Committee opens insurance bids and warns staff: May 7 budget deadline requires recommendations

Rutherford County purchasing staff and broker Jen Cook of CCMSI opened multiple insurance responses on April 14 and presented a range of quotes for property, liability, cyber and a newly requested pollution policy.

Cook told the committee the expiring property and building contents coverage from Travelers carried a premium of $3,350,000. Commercial-package quotes for auto and general liability varied by option and carrier; Old Republic quoted roughly $963,500 (excluding law enforcement) and $1,313,500 (including law enforcement) while Obsidian’s quotes ranged from about $1.68 million to $1.75 million depending on whether contracted school buses were included. A new environmental pollution liability option for facilities including the forensic center and transfer station was quoted with Chubb at about $52,553. Cyber and excess-cyber proposals were also presented.

Staff explained the pollution policy was added to cover exposures at the forensic center and transfer station; bidders indicated certain closed landfill sites were excluded from coverage. Commissioners asked how the county determines whether to self-insure or buy coverage; staff explained that self-insurance is feasible if the county can afford a catastrophic payout from fund balances but that certain lines — notably cyber — can provide incident response and services beyond reimbursement.

The committee voted to take the insurance quotes under advisement for detailed comparison. Members repeatedly stressed the county’s budget calendar: the draft budget presentation is scheduled for May 7, and risk-management/insurance recommendations must be available in time to include premium estimates in that draft. Staff said they will prioritize assembling a recommendation and, if necessary, present estimated rates to avoid delaying the budget publication schedule.

Next steps: staff will compare quotes, verify coverage limits and exclusions (noting exclusions of closed landfill sites), and return with a recommendation to the Purchasing Committee and the Budget Committee for inclusion in the May 7 draft or, at latest, the May 12 purchasing meeting.