Board approves 2025–26 property and casualty insurance after sharp premium rise
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Summary
The school board approved a $1.4 million property and casualty insurance package for FY2025–26 after hearing that reinsurance market shifts, expanded abuse coverage and a multiyear workers’ compensation trend drove higher premiums.
The school district board on July 17 approved property and casualty insurance coverage for fiscal year 2025–26 at roughly $1.4 million after hearing from the district’s insurance agent that market changes pushed premiums up about 20%.
The agent, identified in the meeting as Mr. Gilmore, told the board insurers and reinsurers are increasing building limits and demanding higher premiums. He said insurers have recently treated abuse-and-molestation coverage as a separate line item and required a separate application and premium. “We did get approved for the maximum limit of $10,000,000,” Gilmore said, adding that the district’s historical coverage was reduced compared with past years and carried an unexpected cost.
Why it matters: rising premiums will affect the district’s operating costs for the coming year and staff said they will pursue safety and risk-management steps intended to reduce future workers’ compensation costs. Gilmore said the district’s workers’ compensation modification factor is 1.16, “so we’re paying 16% more, essentially, in workers’ comp fees than we should,” and that the district will host a risk-management review in August to address employee safety.
Board members also heard one piece of good news: Gilmore said the district negotiated a larger excess earthquake/flood layer — increasing a DIC (difference-in-conditions) limit from $15 million to $20 million — and that premium for that particular policy was reduced by about $40,000.
Discussion and direction: board members asked questions about what drives the increase and about planned mitigation. Staff said the district will emphasize employee-safety trainings and follow the risk-management team’s recommendations to try to lower claims in future years. The board voted to approve the coverage as presented; the motion passed and the coverage was adopted during the meeting.
Next steps: staff will implement the agreed risk-management activities and report back as premium impacts are tracked during the year.