Saratoga Springs announces new insurance carrier for 2024 [The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, N.Y.]

Nov. 27—SARATOGA SPRINGS — The New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal has agreed to provide Saratoga Springs with liability insurance coverage for the 2024 calendar year, Mayor Ron Kim announced last week.

The news comes just weeks after the city's current insurance carrier — Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America — sent a letter to officials announcing it would be dropping its coverage for the city effective Jan. 1 because the city's "approach to risk and safety management creates an unacceptable increase in hazards contemplated for the city."

"The City worked with our broker to consider several carrier options for municipal coverage. The national insurance market, including municipal insurance, has been impacted by many factors such as increasing catastrophic weather events," Kim said in a statement. "We are confident in NYMIRs work with municipalities across the state and believe it is the most sound and secure insurance program for our city."

NYMIR was established 30 years ago and currently represents over 900 municipalities throughout New York, including the nearby cities of Amsterdam, Johnstown and Gloversville.

It's unclear what the city's premiums will be under the new policy. The city did not return a request for comment seeking that information.

Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino previously told The Daily Gazette that the city's current Travelers insurance policy was expected to increase to $1.9 million next year — an $800,000 increase from the $1.1 million paid this calendar year.

Montagnino and Kim have sparred since Travelers announced it would not be renewing the policy, with Montagnino blaming Kim for not filling the position of director or risk and safety after a retirement earlier this year. Kim has pointed to the prior administration's handling of lawsuits and an ongoing investigation by the state's Attorney General's Office into whether the city violated the civil rights of Black Lives Matter demonstrators during protests in the summer of 2021.

Both Kim and Montagnino lost bids for reelection earlier this month.

Kim and Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran also announced that the city Risk and Safety program will move back to the Accounts Department on Dec. 1. The program was moved to the mayor's office in August 2022.

"Governmental risk and safety management programs are essential to identifying and mitigating risk within our City's operations," Moran said in a statement. "The Accounts Department will continue to promote safe and supportive best practices for our employees and stakeholders."

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