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DeKalb County approves multi-line insurance renewal, switches cyber coverage after breach claim
Summary
The DeKalb County Commissioners approved a multi-line insurance renewal April 27 that raises some deductibles, keeps most coverages with incumbent carriers and moves cyber coverage to Tokyo Marine after a recent county cyber claim. Commissioners also separated law‑enforcement liability placement and adjusted auto liability deductibles to cut premiums.
DeKalb County Commissioners on April 27 approved a comprehensive insurance renewal package that includes a switch of the county's cyber policy and several deductible changes intended to hold down premiums.
The board heard a market report from the county's broker, who said the county faced higher renewal costs after a recent cyber event. The broker recommended keeping Travelers for the main commercial package while moving the commercial cyber and privacy liability coverage to Tokyo Marine, which provided a substantially lower premium indication. The board voted to change cyber carriers and to accept the broader insurance placement as presented.
Why this matters: The insurance renewal covers the county's property, liability, auto, law‑enforcement liability and specialized lines such as educators' legal liability and drone liability. The choices affect the county's financial exposure if major claims reoccur — for example, higher specific deductibles reduce annual premium costs but increase the county's out‑of‑pocket risk on large claims.
The broker summarized the tradeoffs and data for the board: the county's overall premium increased because of higher exposure (added vehicles and budget growth) and the cyber claim. He told commissioners that increasing specific deductibles for stop‑loss reinsurance could save the county fixed costs, but adds risk for each large claimant. For employee benefits stop‑loss, the board approved moving to a $200,000 specific deductible after reviewing historic large‑claim counts.
On auto insurance, commissioners approved raising the county's third‑party liability deductible to $2,500 to realize roughly $19,000 in premium savings, a change the broker said was supported by recent claim frequency. The board also preserved a relatively low $10,000 property deductible after weighing the small premium savings from higher deductibles against the potential cost of a single large property loss.
On law‑enforcement coverage, because of a recent uptick in law‑enforcement claims (including a jail fire and related claims), the board kept a siloed law‑enforcement liability placement. Commissioners accepted Indian Harbor for the law‑enforcement primary placement and Kinsale for excess layers to isolate that exposure from the rest of the county package.
Commissioner response and next steps: Commissioners asked for documentation of savings tied to specific carrier changes; staff said signature routing (DocuSign) and final binding would follow verifications and a short administrative window. The board voted unanimously on the package and on the deductible changes.
The county's broker said the carrier placements and deductible choices are reviewable next year based on claims experience; the board directed staff to proceed with final signatures once the broker completes paperwork and confirms any outstanding items.
The county's insurance agenda materials and loss summaries will be included in the official minutes and in the insurance broker's closing submission to finalize the placements.
