County insurance reps cite higher rates, work-comp changes and new triage vendor

Judy Hamaker, representing Heartland, introduced Mary Griffin of Holmes Murphy, who reviewed county insurance exposures and recent changes. Griffin said equipment-breakdown coverage saw a marked percentage increase tied to carriers exiting the line and that general-liability premiums are up about 15% in recent renewals.

"Your general liability, you, again, your expenditures are up 15%," Griffin said as she walked supervisors through the budget impacts. She identified a workers' compensation experience-mod increase driven in part by a single 2023 claim of approximately $130,000 that accounted for about a 16% impact on the county's mod factor; the mod rose from the county's prior 0.82 toward about 1.0, which is roughly the national average Griffin said.

Griffin and Heartland staff described a planned vendor rollout with Medcor to provide early triage for non-emergent injuries. Heartland will pay a one-time setup fee (about $250) and an annual $250 maintenance fee; the initial nurse call is billed to the claim file (about $84) rather than to county general revenue. The county can opt into the program; supervisors heard the service may reduce emergency-room visits and corresponding claim costs.

Heartland also plans a rate study that could change premiums for next policy year; Griffin said the actuary's report is expected in October and that liability rates could go down or up depending on results. Board members asked about claim drivers and whether trainings or mock-OSHA visits might reduce incidents; Holmes Murphy and Heartland staff offered to coordinate loss-control visits and training to help lower the county's mod over time.

No formal action was taken; supervisors thanked the presenters and asked staff to circulate the actuary timeline and the Medcor implementation schedule.