(OPEN TO THE PUBLIC) / ITEM NO.
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE SERVICES
TO THE LEAD MEMBER FOR CORPORATE SERVICES
ON MONDAY, 26TH JANUARY, 2004
TITLE : INSURANCE RENEWAL
RECOMMENDATIONS :
It is recommended that the following tenders be accepted :-
Ø Liability - tenderer no. 1 (tender ref 5)
Ø Motor - tenderer no. 2
Ø Personal Accident/Travel - tenderer no. 3
Ø Fidelity Guarantee - tenderer no. 1
and that :-
Ø in respect of the recommended tender for Liability cover, this be referred to the Leader of the Council on the basis of this not being the lowest cost, but preferred as the most economically advantageous ; and
Ø in respect of Personal Accident/Travel cover, subject to consultation with the Director of Personnel and Performance and Unison, authority is sought to seek occupational accident cover from tenderer no 3 should this prove to be a more viable option.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY :
Insurance cover under 3-year long term agreements for liability, motor, personal accident/travel and fidelity guarantee expire on 31st January 2004 and tenders have been invited under OJEU procedures for the renewal of insurance cover by inviting terms for a new 3-year long term agreement.
This report outlines the details of the tenders received and recommends preferred tenders. In respect of liability cover, the tender recommended for acceptance is not the lowest, but is preferred as being the most economically advantageous taking all factors into consideration. The recommended tenders for the remaining areas of cover are all the lowest cost quoted.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS : Tenders returned.
(Available for public inspection) Tender analysis by Aon Ltd.
ASSESSMENT OF RISK :
The extent of risk which the Council should bear as opposed to that which needs to be insured against has been a fundamental element of the tender analysis.
SOURCE OF FUNDING : Revenue budget 2004/05 to 2006/07
LEGAL ADVICE OBTAINED :
The Head of Law and Administration has been consulted on changes proposed to the liability cover.
FINANCIAL ADVICE OBTAINED :
This report has been prepared by the Head of Finance, Head of Business Risk and Control and Principal Insurance Officer, in consultation with Aon Ltd, the Council's appointed insurance brokers.
CONTACT OFFICER : John Spink Tel No : 793 3230 E-mail :
Terry Potts Tel No : 793 3258 E-mail :
WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S) : All
KEY COUNCIL POLICIES : Budget strategy
Risk management strategy
REPORT DETAILS
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Tenders have been invited via the OJEU for the renewal of insurance cover for liability, motor, personal accident/travel and fidelity guarantee under new 3-year long term agreements.
1.2. Aon Ltd, the Council’s appointed insurance brokers, were requested to administer the tendering process on behalf of the Council and to advise on the tenders received.
1.3. This report outlines the details of the tenders received and recommends preferred tenders, based on advice from Aon.
1.4. The following insurances are due for renewal on the 1st February 2004:-
A) Liability
Comprising : Public liability
Employers liability
Officials indemnity
Professional indemnity
Libel and slander
Land charges
B) Motor
C) Personal accident/Travel
D) Fidelity guarantee
1.5. The current arrangements are as follows:-
A) Liability
Insurers : American Re-Insurance/Gallagher Bassett
Premium £1,102,500
Aggregate stop (Fund contribution - £3,667,840) £6,000,000
Claims handling (Estimate based upon 1,150 PI claims @£168;
200 PD claims @ £68; 44 EL claims @£341) £ 221,800
Excess per claim £100,000
Total cost (assuming aggregate stop loss reached) £7,324,300
B) Motor
Insurers : Zurich Municipal
Premium £ 62,456
Aggregate stop £ 325,000
Claims handling £ 16,255
Excess per claim £1,000
Total cost (assuming aggregate stop loss reached) £ 403,711
C) Personal Accident/Travel
Insurers : ACE Europe
Premium £ 6,175
D) Fidelity Guarantee
Insurers : Zurich Municipal
Premium £ 20,500
Excess per claim £100,000
1.6. The budget for 2004/2005 has assumed an increase in the contribution to the Liability Fund of £1,000,000 and a 10% increase in premiums/fund contributions of £428,000.
1.7. All premiums in this report include Insurance Premium Tax at 5%.
2. RENEWAL OF INSURANCES 1ST FEBRUARY 2004
A) Combined Liability
Three insurers :-
Ø Zurich Municipal
Ø AIG
Ø St Paul
have submitted proposals for this aspect of cover, and their tenders are analysed in Appendix 1.
Tenders were invited for a range of different excesses and insurers were asked to determine the stop loss, premium and claims handling costs at each excess amount.
The 6 lowest cost tenders in ascending order worthy of consideration are as follows :-
Ref
/ Tenderer / Excess / Premium (inc IPT) / Claims Handling / Aggregate Stop Loss / Cost of Deductible / Overall Cost / Maximum Exposure£ / £ / £ / £ / £ / £ / £
A / B / C / D / A+B+D / A+B+C
1 / No 3 / 250,000 / 314,660 / 236,330 / none / 6,615,755 / 7,166,745 / unlimited
2 / No 1 / 500,000 / 279,300 / 224,670 / none / 6,665,755 / 7,169,725 / unlimited
3 / No 3 / 250,000 / 329,337 / 236,330 / 11,700,000 / 6,615,755 / 7,181,422 / 12,245,193
4 / No 3 / 500,000 / 285,772 / 236,330 / none / 6,665,755 / 7,187,857 / unlimited
5 / No 1 / 250,000 / 369,600 / 224,670 / none / 6,615,755 / 7,210,025 / unlimited
6 / No 2 / 500,000 / 376,215 / 168,250 / none / 6,665,755 / 7,210,220 / unlimited
The cost of deductible was assessed by Aon Ltd. They estimate claims for 2004/05 will mature at £6,579,800 at an excess of £100,000. For higher excesses, they assume a claim exceeds the excess once in every five years, and therefore add one-fifth of the extra excess to the baseline estimate of the cost of deductibles.
Claims analysis over the past 6 years indicate most claims are below £25,000, with only 22 claims exceeding this amount, of which 3 exceeded £100,000 and no claim was greater than £200,000.
In considering the most economically advantageous tender, the following factors were taken into account :-
Ø Tenders ref 2, 4 and 6 were discounted because this would have exposed the Council to the risk of meeting high cost claims above the current excess of £100,000 up to £500,000, and do not provide a sufficient premium reduction to make this option worth the added risk.
Ø Tender ref 3 was discounted as this was merely a variation on tender ref 1 from the same tenderer, adopting a stop loss amount, which it is believed will not be reached.
Ø The cost difference between the remaining tenders, ref 1 and 5, is £43,280. However, certain factors need to be taken into account in assessing them on a like-for-like basis, as follows :- - both tenders quote an additional premium for directors and officers for NPHL but tender ref 1 is greater by £5k
- tender ref 1 quotes an excess layer of £5m cover required for professional indemnity at an added premium of £7.5k
- tender ref 5 allows for 10 days risk management support days as opposed to 5 days for tender ref 1, a value difference of £5k
These factors reduce the cost difference to £25,780 (or 0.36% of the total cost).
Ø Tender ref 5 includes for claims handling by the Council’s current claims handlers.
Ø The tendering exercise which is underway at present for a joint venture company (JVC) to provide services currently provided by Development Services indicates a keen interest amongst bidders in providing claims handling and administration as part of the JVC services. We are therefore only likely to be seeking external claims handling for the 12 month period to 31st January 2005.
Taking the above-mentioned factors into account, tender ref 5 (from tenderer no 1) is preferred as the most economically advantageous.
It should be noted that if Aon Ltd’s assessment of the likely claims cost to be met by Salford is accurate, then the total cost of tender ref 5 at £7,210,025 would be less than at present of £7,324,300 by virtue of the fact that the reduction in premium more than offsets the likely increase in cost of claims.
It should also be noted that the Council would be taking an increased risk with the higher excess of £250,000, but is one which on the basis of trends in recent years would not unduly expose the Council to a significantly greater risk and is at a limit at which other local authorities in the region are known to currently have their excess set.
B) Motor
Two insurers have submitted proposals for this aspect of cover :-
Ø Zurich Municipal
Ø AIG
Details are as follows :-
Tenderer No 1
Premium Stop Loss Claims Handling Total Cost
£143,325 £525,000 £14,725 (Estimate on 155 claims) £683,050
£114,660 £550,000 £14,725 £679,385
Tenderer No 2
Premium Stop Loss Claims Handling Total Cost
£57,225 £325,000 £16,875 £399,100
Tenderer No 2 is recommended on the basis of the lowest cost of premium, stop loss and claims handling together, and a proposed aggregate stop loss which more accurately reflects the Council’s claims experience.
The cost of the recommended tender is slightly lower than the current cost of £403,711.
C) Personal Accident/Travel
Four insurers have submitted proposals for this aspect of cover :-
Ø Zurich Municipal
Ø AIG
Ø Chubb
Ø ACE
Details are as follows :-
Tenderer No 1
Premium
£31,920 Including Occupational Accident cover (Subject to 3 year LTA)
Tenderer No 2
Premium
£65,529 Including Occupational Accident cover (Subject to 3 year LTA)
Tenderer No 3
Premium
£15,496 Assault cover only (Subject to 3 year LTA)
£25,533 Including Occupational Accident cover (Subject to 3 year LTA)
Tenderer No 4
Premium
£48,461 Including Occupational Accident cover (Subject to unspecified LTA)
Tenderer no 3 for assault cover is recommended on the basis of lowest cost.
It should be noted that assault cover is the basis of the existing cover. The Council operates its own occupational accident scheme and discussions are currently taking place with the Director of Personnel and Performance to ascertain whether the added insurance cover is a better financial option for the Council. Consultation with Unison will be required if there is to be any change to the current arrangement.
Therefore, subject to consultation with the Director of Personnel and Performance and Unison, authority is sought to seek occupational accident cover from tenderer no 3 should this prove to be a more viable option.
The lowest tenderer at £15,496 exceeds the current cost of £6,175.
D) Fidelity Guarantee
Only one insurer has submitted a proposal for this aspect of cover.
Tenderer No 1
Premium
£23,583 (Subject to 3 year LTA)
Tender No 1 is recommended.
The recommended tender exceeds the current cost of £20,500.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended that the following tenders be accepted :-
Ø Liability - tenderer no. 1 (tender ref 5)
Ø Motor - tenderer no. 2
Ø Personal Accident/Travel - tenderer no. 3
Ø Fidelity Guarantee - tenderer no. 1
and that :-
Ø in respect of the recommended tender for Liability cover, this be referred to the Leader of the Council on the basis of this not being the lowest cost, but preferred as the most economically advantageous ; and
Ø in respect of Personal Accident/Travel cover, subject to consultation with the Director of Personnel and Performance and Unison, authority is sought to seek occupational accident cover from tenderer no 3 should this prove to be a more viable option.
ALAN WESTWOOD
Director of Corporate Services
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