Marksville saves $60,000 on work comp insurance

With Marksville facing not just a shoestring budget, but a frayed shoestring budget threatening to snap, city officials were looking for ways to save money.

When Blake Knoll, new owner of 1st Insurance Marksville, said he could save the city $60,000, and improve their insurance protection at the same time, the City Council happily accepted the offer.

Knoll convinced the City Council to switch from the Louisiana Municipal Risk Management insurance pool to Louisiana Worker’s Compensation Corp. (LWCC) -- the state’s largest work comp company. The change saved the city almost $60,000 and also provides more protection in the event of a “bad year” for claims in the Risk Management cities.

The premium quoted for renewal with Risk Management was $222,610. The 1st Insurance premium is is $162,797.

Knoll said Louisiana Risk Management is not an insurance company, but an insurance pool in which participating municipalities’ premiums are combined to cover all member city claims.

“If the claims exceed the amount in the pool, the responsibility falls back on the municipality to cover those claims,” Knoll said.

“LWCC is an A-rated company and is admitted to the state to issue insurance, so the state will back them,” he added.

“The mayor and council have done a fantastic job of keeping claims low, and city Secretary/Treasurer Heather Bordelon was able to provide all the information necessary for my staff to negotiate with LWCC to make the case for a rate this low.”