COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – An 11 Call to Action Investigation finds the cost for the same insurance premium to cover the police department and lawsuits they settle has doubled.
And that money is coming from your tax dollars.
11 News obtained documents through open records requests showing those premiums for special law enforcement liability coverage rising year over year. But city officials claim these huge increases have nothing to do with a nearly $3 million settlement the city paid out to the family of De’von Bailey in 2022. The claim was turned on the city’s special insurance. Under the current policy, the cost of the same coverage increased again.
Ryan Talmage is the City of Colorado Springs risk manager. He blames the national market for this type of coverage increasing, not their local claims turned in and paid out.
“After George Floyd and everything that followed most public and general liability carriers dropped law-enforcement liability coverage for all cities because after that incident, it became so expensive, and exposures became so great for police activities,” Talmage told 11 News. “We went from $350,000 to $700,000 overnight.”
The premiums could keep going up since there are so few insurance companies offering the coverage. It’s not just COS either, industry watchdogs report some premiums for similar sized cities going up as much as 400 percent in the last two years.
“This doubling price has been horrendous and beyond our control,” Talmage added.
2018 – 2019 Policy Year
Public Entity Liability
Premium = $370,629.00
Argonaut Insurance Co. – Primary
Excess Premium = $53,607.00
Allied World Specialty Ins. Co. – Excess
2019 – 2020
Public Entity Liability
Premium = $390,362.00
Argonaut Insurance Co. – Primary
Excess Premium = $53,551.00
Allied World Specialty Ins. Co. – Excess
2020 – 2021
Public Entity Liability
Premium = $413,029.00
Argonaut Insurance Co. – Primary
Excess Premium = $58,539.00
Allied World Specialty Ins. Co. – Excess
2021 – 2022
Law Enforcement Liability (LEL separate from PEL)
Premium = $768,000.00
QBE Specialty Insurance Co.
Excess Premium = $345,000.00
Kinsale Insurance Co.
2022 – 2023
Law Enforcement Liability (LEL separate from PEL)
Premium = $844,579.00
QBE Specialty Insurance Co.
Excess Premium = $374,375.00
Kinsale Insurance Co.
Copyright 2023 KKTV. All rights reserved.
Clinton Mora is a reporter for Trending Insurance News. He has previously worked for the Forbes. As a contributor to Trending Insurance News, Clinton covers emerging a wide range of property and casualty insurance related stories.