Cobourg council agreed at this week's committee-of-the-whole meeting to a renewal of its insurance, albeit at a 6.3% increase in costs.
Council agreed with the recommended action in a staff report from treasurer Ian Davey to renew the comprehensive insurance program with the Frank Cowan Company, covering the period of Oct. 1, 2019, through Oct. 1, 2020, at a premium of $568,840 (including all applicable taxes).
The insurance is provided through the McDougall Insurance Brokers agency on a fee-for-service basis. This renewal represents the second year of a five-year agreement with McDougall.
“In addition to assisting municipal staff with questions regarding coverages and claims, our insurance broker reviews our policy renewal to ensure that coverages are adequate to protect the municipality and that premiums are fair,” the report said.
“Earlier this year, we added our first Cyber liability policy to our insurance coverage. The Cyber policy is separate from our comprehensive policy being considered in this report. The Cyber policy runs from Aug. 6, 2019, through Aug. 6, 2020, with an annual premium of $6,426, including all applicable taxes.”
This year's costs represent an increase of $33,709 or 6.3%, based on increase coverage in the areas of general liability, property and automobile.
A McDougall representative was present during discussions, identifying some of the triggers to the increased cost.
“The society we live in, unfortunately, is getting more and more litigious – more claims requiring more actions with larger payments,” he said.
Claims are mostly health-related, he added, but these costs are rising as well.
Even simple automobile claims are more expensive as the cars of today are more sophisticated and more costly to repair.
And, he noted, storms are more severe, with more damage resulting.