The Starke County Commissioners made a decision concerning a liability insurance provider during their most recent meeting.
Commissioner Kathy Norem said quotes were solicited from 1st Choice Insurance and 1st Source Insurance to compare prices to possibly save some money.
1st Source happened to have the lower quote of $388,815 while 1st Choice Insurance submitted a quote of $405,170 which is a difference of $16,355.
Norem explained the decision came down to workman’s compensation. She added that County Attorney Marty Lucas and the highway department have expressed that they like working with the current provider Bliss McKnight through 1st Choice Insurance while 1st Source works through a different provider.
“Because everybody has an opinion that they appreciate the services from Bliss so much, do we want to lose that for $16,000?”
Norem noted that in 2014 the worker’s compensation premium was $236,000 and it has dropped every year with safe practices done by the employees. It is now $133,000.
After making the note of the ease of working with the current workman’s compensation provider, the Starke County Commissioners made a unanimous decision to stay with 1st Choice Insurance for liability insurance for 2020.
