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Board approves 2026–27 insurance renewal, raises property deductible but rejects higher auto deductible
Summary
Klamath County accepted a 1.79% renewal from CIS for 2026–27, approved raising the property/equipment deductible from $50,000 to $100,000 (estimated ~$16,000 annual savings) and authorized the risk manager to sign policy documents; the board declined a proposed increase to the vehicle deductible.
Klamath County commissioners accepted the county’s 2026–27 insurance renewal and authorized county risk management to sign the policy documents after debate over deductible options.
Staff reported the renewal with CIS reflects a 1.79% premium increase compared with recent historical increases of 8–15%. Staff offered options to lower annual premiums: increasing the property and equipment deductible from $50,000 to $100,000 would reduce premiums by roughly $16,000 a year (staff said the figure is approximate because items below the new deductible would be removed from the schedule). Increasing the county’s vehicle deductible from $5,000 to $10,000 would produce only about $5,000 in savings and would affect about 223 vehicles, so commissioners concluded the auto change did not “pencil out.”
Risk management recommended keeping Cowbell for cyber coverage and proceeding with the quoted renewal. Commissioners noted the county’s claim history—two larger claims (museum, transfer station) over a roughly 10-year span—and agreed that, based on that history, increasing the property deductible was reasonable. One commissioner cautioned that future large claims could make the change costly, but the board voted to proceed with the property deductible increase while retaining the current auto deductible.
The board moved, seconded and approved a motion authorizing risk management Leslie Barlo Hunter to sign the insurance policy documents with the board-approved changes. Staff said workers’ compensation is handled on a separate two-year retro plan and was not part of this renewal.
Next steps: staff will remove items under the new property deductible from the schedule as appropriate, finalize policy documents and file the signed documents as authorized.
