Insurance pool faces deep water [Lewiston Tribune, Idaho]
By Joel Mills, Lewiston Tribune, Idaho | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Thirty-nine
"When we launched the pool on
But claims have tapered off dramatically since then, Marks added. If that continues, rates could be reduced by 10 percent to 15 percent sometime next year.
"Our hope is that soon after (the 36 percent increase) kicks into place, that we may be able to back some of that off," he said. "We don't want to promise that right now, but the trend is very favorable for us."
The pool's 11-member board met this week in
If cities elect not to pay, they will default out of the pool and have to pay significant exit fees and penalties, Marks said.
Reached before the board meeting, city clerks in some of the affected north central
"They say every few years, you're going to have a bad year," Kennedy said of the unexpected claims. "It just so happened that our first year was a bad year."
City clerks in
"It really will be a beneficial program if we can just get through this first year of struggling," said
The city's rates for its two employees have stayed the same since March, Schmidt said. And while there have been warnings that things could change next year, she said she hopes the trust will not have to be dissolved.
"We are happy with it," Hammons said. "Like any brand new adventure, there are going to be bumps in the road."
City officials in
Marks said keeping the pool together will be worth the short-term expense and effort. He said he helped form a similar trust in
"Unlike a private insurer, we don't have to consider a profit margin, we don't have marketing costs," he said. "And the pharmaceutical rebates that private insurers typically collect go toward our bottom line to offset future rate increases. We just had an anomaly with a bunch of big claims off the bat that spent the reserve we were supposed to have."
Mills may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 883-0564.
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