County receives bids for insurance

The Jackson County Commissioners received several bids Monday for county property and liability insurance, and there was a large difference in the price tags. 

David Luke, CEO of KCAMP (Kansas County Association Multi-line Pool) of Topeka and Cindy Hower and Kristy Wilson of Kellerman Insurance of Holton presented bids during the commissioners’ meeting to insure all the county’s property, as well as provide liability, crime and surety coverage. 

KCAMP presented a bid of $139,820 for insurance. About two-thirds of counties in Kansas are insured through KCAMP, it was stated, and Luke said that 85 percent of public entities in the United States belong to an insurance pool.

KCAMP is different than regular insurance. It is a member-owned, member-funded self-insured property and liability pool. It is not an insurance company. Members pay contributions (premiums) to the pool, and, in turn, these contributions are used to pay claims, provide risk management services and education to all the members and pay costs associated with the administration of the pool.  

The idea behind pooling insurance is that, when combined with the other 63 counties in KCAMP, Jackson County may be able to obtain a lower rate on insurance if it becomes a member of the pool.

However, there are some risks involved by being a member of an insurance pool. The pool is backed financially lower than a regular insurance company, and if members come up short on what is being paid out in claims in the pool, then their premiums can be reassessed at any given time, it was reported. 

Besides property and liability insurance coverage, KCAMP offers risk management services, a variety of free training and “attorney assist.”

The county has obtained insurance through KCAMP in the past. In October 2011, however, the commissioners at that time learned that KCAMP would be cutting back on some of its coverage for the county because of the number of lawsuits filed against the county at that time. 

Due to the reduction of coverage from KCAMP, the commissioners switched to Kellerman Insurance at that time and have continued to receive coverage through the company.

Hower presented three bids for insurance for the county through One Beacon Insurance Company and Travelers Insurance Company. 

The first option is a one-year contract with One Beacon at a total cost of $255,166, which includes a $20,000 policy service fee for Kellerman Insurance.

The second option was a three-year locked in rate from One Beacon with a premium rate of $258,702 plus a $20,000 service fee for Kellerman Insurance, for a total cost of $278,702 per year.

The third option was from Travelers Insurance for a total premium cost of $248,553, which includes Kellerman Insurance’s $20,000 service fee. 

Some of the commissioners said they were hesitant to return to KCAMP after the pool dropped some of the county’s coverage in 2011.

The county’s current contract with Kellerman Insurance, which totals about $255,000, is through One Beacon and expires at the end of the year. 

The commissioners said they need to review the contracts more closely to make sure all policies are providing identical coverage for the same things before making a decision. 

“We still have a lot of questions that need to be answered,” Commissioner Janet Zwonitzer said. 

The commissioners adjourned their meeting yesterday at noon in order to travel to the Kansas Association of Counties conference and expo, which was set from Nov. 3 – 5 in Wichita.