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City rolls the dice on insurance deal
By DAVE SHELTON
Article published on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006 |
LARGO – Like most area property owners, the city has faced a daunting decision on its insurance coverage. At a special meeting Sept. 29, the City Commission voted to reduce insurance coverage on its $200 million-worth of city-owned property rather than pay increased rates.
Earlier last month the commission decided to abandon wind insurance whose premium was scheduled to go up 400 percent.
Wind damage coverage was dropped after the city’s insurance broker reported the premium for 2007 would be nearly $2 million compared to $405,000 this year, according to city legislative documents. Part of the jump was due to a nearly $25 million increase in the total value of all city properties, worth an estimated $205 million.
A frequent critic of city spending, John Atanasio, took issue with the higher valuations, claiming the city was “being taken.” He categorically attacked the higher values but was cut short by Mayor Pat Gerard after he had completed four minutes of a presentation he said would take 15 minutes.
The mayor said Atanasio wasn’t speaking on behalf of enough residents to qualify for a longer presentation.
The city had budgeted only $600,000 for property insurance. The commission decided Sept. 21 to open a new account in the city coffers in which reserves would be held toward a catastrophe. The city has approximately $12 million in its 2007 budget that is not applied to any expenses.
The commission elected to pay a $154,000 premium for a policy that covers “other perils,” which includes fire, explosion, vehicle damage, plumbing leaks and thefts. Gerard explained that this was more cost-effective than self-insurance for these, more frequent, claims.
Rising insurance rates, especially for flood and wind damage, are the subject of study by both the state Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush.
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Article published on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006
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