MOUNT VERNON — Knox County will see a 13.58% increase in its property and liability insurance premium for 2025-26.
That was the news Michael Percy and Ali Redmond delivered to county commissioners on Tuesday.
The annual premium will increase from $275,904 to $313,386, a difference of $37,482.
Knox County is one of 73 Ohio counties participating in CORSA’s (County Risk Sharing Authority) risk-sharing pool. The pool averages a 12.07% premium increase for 2025-26.
CORSA is a self-insured risk pool governed by a board of county commissioners. The pool started in 1987 when commercial insurance was either unaffordable or unattainable for county government.
Redmond, who works in membership services with CORSA, said premiums have been stable for many years, but have increased each of the last three years (9.83%, 10%, and 12.07%).
Knox County’s premium rose 10% last year.
“Even though we’ve had an increase, it’s still well below what you would see in the marketplace, and so it’s still a nice program for counties to be in,” she said.
Michael Percy of Griffin Insurance acts as CORSA’s local agent.
He said he is starting to see companies drop clients even without the client submitting claims. Percy said CORSA provides long-term stability.
“CORSA is well respected in the industry and has had the ability to continue to get reinsured when other entities have not,” he told the commissioners.
The county has taken actions to reduce risk, which resulted in $40,797 in credits that lowered the premium.
Those actions include undergoing auto and cyber training and purchasing a body scanner and body cameras to increase safety.
Increased exposure leads to higher premiums
For 2025, the county is insured for slightly more than $201.3 million.
That includes buildings, autos, $23 million for payroll, and $2 million in cyber coverage.
“Before we had $1 million in coverage per member, but ransom was limited to $50,000,” Redmond said. “This year we’re able to bring out $2 million per member.”
Two buildings, the courthouse and Memorial Building, are insured for historic (reproduction) value. The remaining buildings are insured for replacement value.
Percy credits “a good chunk” of the premium increase to the county’s increased risk exposure through added cars, deputies, and higher property values.
The county increased its fleet by 28, and property values rose by $6.8 million. The number of deputies and detainees also increased slightly.
County administrator Jason Booth said the county engineer’s office, Knox County Transit, and the sheriff’s office bought new vehicles. The county bought extra sheriff vehicles last year to take advantage of better pricing.
The Insurance & Contingencies category comprises 13% of the county’s 2025 general fund budget.
Reinsurance drives up insurance premiums
A second driver of higher premiums is reinsurance.
CORSA covers up to $1 million of a loss and buys secondary insurance, or reinsurance, to cover the rest. Hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, flooding, and other national disasters affect reinsurance.
Large liability claims, especially related to law enforcement and medical abuse, also drive up reinsurance costs.
CORSA offers reimbursement programs if the county buys items related to cyber security, conducts pre-employment polygraphs or psychological evaluations, and achieves accreditations.
“Knox County’s IT team has done a great job in preparing and helping with the cyber because once you added full-time staff, it really changed the whole perspective of IT for you guys. And that’s been a big help,” Redmond said.
Booth also credits the human resources department for ensuring employees are trained and Deputy Clerk Robin Santos for ensuring vehicles and other equipment are added to the coverage.
Redmond said that to help control future costs, CORSA is considering setting aside more money so that instead of buying $6 million in reinsurance, it might have to buy only $3 million.
