Most brokers dream of landing that big fish account – and you can’t get much bigger than an entire municipality. Cities, which take out their coverage from a main carrier for all of their infrastructure and liability needs, will often tap the services of a local broker, says Barb Szychta, vice president of risk management services at Frank Cowan Company, a leading provider of municipality insurance.
“We work very closely with the local broker because a lot of times the municipalities look for someone who lives, works, and supports the community,” she says. “We actually write through brokers.”
So, how can an esteemed broker break into the municipality coverage business? Szychta points out cities award their municipality insurance via a tendering process. “For most municipalities, insurance is a tendering request and proposal process,” she says. “Then, the various insurers and brokers will pick up the tender from a public site, and then we quote based on the tender.”
While municipal coverage is generally written and provided by just one insurer, it’s a complex suite of coverages, says Szychta. In addition to third-party liability coverage – should injuries or death occur on a city’s park and public property – there’s a multitude of buildings and services that require their policies.
“Municipal insurance starts with their physical property – their buildings,” she says. “Municipalities do have a big property schedule – things like areas, waste water and treatment, all the things that go along with their water facilities, there’s city hall, police stations, fire stations.”
“Then of course, there’s the municipal liability policy… so that’s where you’ll see your slip and falls, your trip and falls, road accidents, people being hurt in municipal parks and municipal arenas, playgrounds, trail systems,” she says, adding one “can’t forget automobile coverage because municipalities have a large fleet of vehicles.” Other forms of coverages can include conflict of interest policies, emissions insurance, building inspection, as well as cyber.
In addition to such a tall order, Szychta adds that Frank Cowan also provides risk management, offering guidance on road design, building inspection and valuations, as well as educational efforts.
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