Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Insurance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City insurance renews with small overall increase as workers' compensation spikes after slip-and-fall
Summary
Midwest Insurance told the Nevada City Council the city's overall insurance renewal rose by less than 4%, largely because of a newly listed fire truck, while workers' compensation costs jumped about 56% after a slip-and-fall claim that raised the city's experience modification from 0.69 to 0.90.
Melissa Johnson, president of Midwest Insurance and the city's agent representative to IAP and IWMCA, presented the city's annual insurance renewal and loss history to the Nevada City Council.
Johnson said the insurer returned an "overall increase of less than 4%" for the city's policies and that the single largest driver was the replacement cost for a new fire truck added to the auto schedule. She told the council that inflation led to nearly $2 million of added building value and that the city now has roughly $113 million insured for structures.
The presentation forecast a notable rise in workers' compensation premiums. "Work comp for Nevada has historically been fantastic," Johnson said, "but this year it increased by 56%." She explained the city's experience modification ("mod")—a factor based on prior years' claims—fell from 0.69 (a 31% credit relative to peers) to 0.90, largely because one slip-and-fall claim from the 2024–25 year is currently costing about $60,000. Johnson warned the mod is calculated off the previous three-year span and that additional recent claims will keep upward pressure on the rate before it can improve.
Johnson recommended stronger return-to-work and light-duty programs to limit time-off and reduce future premium increases, and offered the insurer's assistance in identifying suitable light-duty options for injured employees.
Council members asked questions about details in the five-year loss history and expressed appreciation for the generally low claim volume outside the recent work comp losses. No action was required; the briefing was provided for council and budget-planning awareness.
Ending: The briefing will inform the city's FY planning and budgeting; staff and the insurer said they will help craft return-to-work measures and follow up with any additional clarifications requested by council.
