Board renews county insurance and approves $2 million excess cyber coverage after fraud concerns

The Board of Supervisors on June 30 approved renewal of the county’s property-casualty and liability insurance through the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool at $948,399 (a 6.1% increase) and separately approved purchasing up to $2 million in excess cyber insurance for an additional premium not to exceed $30,000.

The insurance committee presented the renewal and explained the primary package includes $1 million of cyber coverage; the county’s broker obtained a Coalition Insurance quote for an additional $2 million of excess cyber coverage with a $28,166.60 premium quoted. Committee members and county staff said recent sophisticated phishing and payment redirection scams in other Iowa jurisdictions informed the recommendation to add excess cyber protection and incident-response assistance.

"The bad guys are getting craftier," an IT/security representative told the board, urging vigilance and noting deep-fake and advanced social-engineering scams that can defeat routine checks. Board members said extra coverage offers both financial protection and access to mitigation assistance.

The board also authorized a $125,000 intra-fund transfer from the general supplemental fund to the county's self-insurance property/liability fund to cover deductibles and approved IAP member proxy appointments (Michelle Weedner and Lori Wormers) as recommended by the insurance committee.

Ending: The insurance renewal and the additional cyber coverage were approved and will be implemented; staff said they would continue to emphasize internal safeguards and training alongside the insurance protections.