By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Options are limited and prices are going up for property, liability and workers compensation insurance for Barton Community College. The college has been insured by multiple independent carriers in recent years. One insurance provider canceled coverage after the dining hall fire at Camp Aldrich in 2014. Two other carriers increased rates and deductibles which made them non-competitive.
Barton Vice President of Administration Mark Dean said more insurance providers
are not considering junior colleges.
"To give you a little preview, I've been working on athletic insurance," said Dean. "In the past, we usually get five or six companies that bid. We have two. The others won't bid. It's becoming difficult to get insurance carriers to bid on the community college markets."
The Barton Board of Trustees approved the bid from Kansas Educational Risk
Management Pool (KERMP). The pool consists of dozens of school districts and
colleges across Kansas, including Great Bend USD 428 and Hoisington USD 431.
According to Dean’s presentation Tuesday, property valuations, increased
construction costs and property losses are increasing insurance costs by
35%-45%. That is the number one factor in renewal costs.
The total KERMP package to insure Barton for the 2023-2024 school year, not
including workers compensation, costs $618,959. A similar plan for the
2022-2023 school year was priced at $409,865.