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County insurance briefing: CORSA reports modest premium change, cyber tiers and new captive plan
Summary
Representatives from CORSA briefed commissioners on Ashland County’s insurance renewal, reporting a modest 2.15% change to the county’s renewal, a dividend credit, tiered cyber coverage limits and the creation of a captive (ORCA) to secure excess coverage.
John Brownlee, managing director for CORSA, told Ashland County commissioners on April 16 that the county’s 2026 renewal reflects a modest change after review of loss ratios and exposures.
Brownlee said the county’s annualized premium for the 2025 program year was about $3.31 million and that Ashland County’s 2026 renewal for the CORSA program year is $320,927, a difference he described as approximately $6,746 (a 2.15% change). He attributed the relatively small increase to Ashland County’s favorable five-year loss ratio (reported at about 52.12%).
CORSA also allocated a dividend pool this year; Brownlee reported Ashland County received a dividend/credit in the briefing. He outlined CORSA’s loss-control incentive program, which awards credits for activities such as defensive driving and HR training.
Brownlee reviewed changes to cyber coverage under a tiered structure: counties that meet reinsurance carrier requirements (for example, multifactor authentication and updated software) qualify for higher ransom limits (top tier $2 million, middle tier $1 million). Based on the county’s current responses, Ashland County was placed in the $500,000 tier, with the option to apply for tier upgrades if they implement additional controls; CORSA offers a modest implementation incentive (reported as $5,500) to help pay for measures such as MFA.
He also warned about the state-auditor standard for 'fraudulent instruction' (unauthorized wire transfers): auditors will place a finding in a county audit if policies and verification steps are not in place even if funds are later recovered. CORSA’s coverage for fraudulent instruction is limited (reported capped at $250,000).
Brownlee described the creation of a pure captive, the Ohio Risk and County Alliance (ORCA), formed to provide excess coverage the commercial market is limiting or pricing prohibitively; he framed ORCA as a long-term measure to protect county coverage availability.
Commissioners asked questions and thanked CORSA representatives for the briefing. No formal vote was required on the presentation; follow-up items include county consideration of cyber controls and documentation to potentially raise the county to a higher cyber tier.
