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The selection of an insurance broker is underway for Luzerne County.
The broker shops around for insurance providers and administers claims for county coverage.
Bethlehem-based Brown & Brown of Lehigh Valley has been the county’s broker since 2013, receiving a two-year renewal in 2014 that included an additional one-year extension the administration has exercised through the end of this year. The company is paid $85,000 annually.
The county also retains The Zigmund Co. in Harrisburg as risk manager for $20,000 annually through 2018. The risk manager recommends the dollar amounts and types of coverage that should be purchased and studies broker-secured policies to ensure the county is receiving requested services and coverage, officials say.
The county budgets more than $1 million annually for vehicle, property, liability and other insurance coverage.
County officials recently discussed five proposals from entities interested in serving as brokers in 2018 and 2019, although the companies were not identified by name.
The submissions, posted on the council agenda section at www.luzernecounty.org, contain annual fees ranging from $55,000 to $125,000, but the one with the lowest price also included a requirement to receive 10 percent of all savings resulting from its account and loss control efforts.
Councilman Eugene Kelleher said during a recent work session that the savings incentive seemed appealing at first glance and asked Ruth A. Moraski Keller, of Zigmund, for her opinion.
Moraski Keller advised against the option, saying the percentage is “not quantifiable” and is an unnecessary added cost. The broker should be seeking county savings as part of its flat fee, she said.
Instead, she recommended acceptance of a proposal, the first on the list, charging a flat annual fee of $60,000 for all services outlined in the county’s request for services.
Councilman Stephen A. Urban asked if current broker Brown & Brown is among the five that submitted proposals.
Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo said the five company names can’t be publicly released until the contract is awarded, although that information could be shared in closed-door executive session.
The county’s decision to keep Brown & Brown was somewhat controversial in 2014 because two other companies with local offices had applied for the work, including one that would charge less. In recommending Brown & Brown, the administration cited past concerns with the low bidder and the higher cost of the other company.
At the recent work session, Urban complained that insurers force the county to retain outside legal counsel to handle litigation, even though the county often ends up funding most or all of the legal fees due to the deductible.
“They’re using our money and telling us we have to hire a lawyer from the outside,” Urban said. “Why aren’t we going after the insurance company saying we agree there’s a cap before coverage kicks in, but we want to be able to prosecute and defend those cases with our lawyers in the county?”
Crocamo said current policies have reduced the county’s deductible from $150,000 to $100,000, and the insurance company has approved some county requests to provide in-house legal representation for certain litigation. Her office is currently handling two court cases and several arbitration matters, she said.
“Having said that, if council wants the office of law to defend complex litigation, we need to restructure the office of law and increase staff,” Crocamo said.