Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Insurance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District touts SOV-driven insurance renewal: insured value up while premiums fall
Summary
St. Charles Parish administrators told the committee they increased insured property values by about $104 million and negotiated a roughly 31% reduction in property insurance rates, producing an estimated $300,000 premium reduction at renewal; staff credited a recent SOV audit and said a single claims adjuster sped response to a Luling Elementary water claim.
Darnisha Gray, the district administrator who presented the renewal, said the Board’s earlier investment in a Statement of Values (SOV) audit helped secure better terms from underwriters. "That SOV work proved to be very favorable in our property insurance renewal," Gray said, noting the SOV made the district’s values more defensible to carriers.
Gray and a presenting insurer representative reported the district added about $104,000,000 to its total insured value — roughly a 19% increase — while negotiating an approximate 31% reduction in the property-insurance rate. "We are seeing a $300,000 reduction in premium this year at renewal," the presenter said.
Board members pressed for practical examples of improved service. Administrative staff recounted a recent water-loss claim at Luling Elementary: staff said the district reported the loss early in the morning and the adjuster was on site within roughly two and a half hours. Gray said the district has a single designated claims adjuster to coordinate multiple carriers and to speed response.
Committee members asked whether recent changes in Louisiana insurance law would lower commercial rates; staff said the anticipated 2027 personal-auto rate changes do not necessarily apply to commercial placements and that commercial property placement remains a different market that often runs through wholesalers and brokers.
Gray also briefed the committee on the separate auto-physical-damage renewal for parked district vehicles: insured value held near $2,911,000 and the premium rose about 1.9% year over year; staff described that renewal as routine and largely unchanged.
The presentation closed with staff offering to confirm whether auto-physical-damage coverage applies when buses are parked off district lots; administration said they would follow up with a written confirmation.
Next steps: staff will finalize any contract paperwork and bring required financial adjustments to the full Board as needed. No formal Board vote on the property renewal was recorded in the committee segment reviewed.
