In today’s volatile public entity insurance marketplace I find myself regularly answering this question. Everyone jumps to “stability”, and public entities believe stability means grabbing hold of your SIR and not letting go.

As insurance markets start to raise the self-insured retentions of large public entities, due to loss activity or the economy, many entities fight to keep their current SIR by sacrificing higher policy limits. At the same time, lawsuits are increasing in size and number in all coverage areas (View Settlements PDF). Many public entities are maintaining lower policy limits when the threat of high dollar lawsuits is actually increasing! Now here’s the kicker… Private equity firms are now financing these high dollar lawsuits in the hopes of receiving better investment returns. (Source Article) This information, recent inflation fears, and a possible turn in the insurance market make me wonder whether we should be fighting for the low SIR or a higher limit.

So What Can You Do?

First, determine the correct SIR for your account; it’s usually above the working (or frequency) layer. Positioning the SIR allows for the most cost effective transfer of risk, enabling you to keep premiums at a minimum while still achieving your goal of protection from market swings. SIR’s should be set to handle one large claim every 5 to 6 years.  If your current SIR is above or below that level, it may need to be reset. If you don’t know if your SIR is correctly positioned, call us, we analyze SIRs and loss histories for a living.

Second, determine what policy limits you might need. Many public entities in states with strong tort law buy lower limits as they feel comfortable with the tort protection. However, even in tort protected states, these entities are NOT protected from the Federal Claims found in Section 1983 and the claims associated with violating those laws. These claims are mostly EPLI and law enforcement related, so be sure to weigh your exposure in those areas. Keep in mind that tort statutes have been broken across the country. If your local tort statute is broken you’ll be vulnerable to all negligence based claims and that tort protection will no longer exist.

Odds are that your public entity can likely absorb an additional $500k to $1 million due to an increase in the SIR, but if your limits are too low can you handle another $10 million from a lawsuit gone bad? Imagine having to pay $5-$10 million in this economy because you didn’t take the time to consider the changing marketplace and the possibility of a large claim. Ultimately, the decision is up to you, but if you’re sacrificing limits for a lower SIR, then you may need to reconsider your choice!

Last year, public entities across America saw an increase in their SIR’s and many don’t have the loss reserves to support the higher SIR. This leaves these public entities extremely vulnerable in a large loss situation. Should a large loss scenario occur, the risk manager would have to figure out how to externally fund the higher SIR, either with higher taxes or by floating a bond…Not exactly what a risk manager is excited to face with all the other challenges of today.

To counteract this higher SIR move by the standard public entity companies, we are seeing the emergence of a specialty market that offers “Buffer Layers”. These Buffer Layers allow the client to keep the same lower SIR they prefer and are funded for.

Here’s your typical Buffer Layer scenario: 2008 SIR set at $2mil, 2009 renewal offered at a $4mil with some sort of discount.  The client isn’t funded for the $4mil SIR, so we provide a $2mil X/S $2mil Buffer Layer. These Buffer layers do cost money, but they have a decent payback period of less than 10 years in most cases. Usually, the client uses the discount from the insurance placement, and other available resources to purchase the buffer layer.

The emerging companies providing the $1mil or $2mil layers are specialized and use a more primary loss pick rating system approach.  These buffer layers resemble insurance that you’re more likely to use than the excess insurance of today, which companies are betting you don’t use…With the use of buffer layers, it is really a win / win situation. You get the SIR you financially need at a price you can handle and avoid the funding issue during a large claim which could lead oversight of your department decision making powers.

GIE has been a specialized force in the public entity world for nearly 20 years and always stays top of emerging trends in the insurance world. Call us today to learn more about the use of this emerging “Buffer Layer” technique!