A new structure for property and liability insurance may be on the horizon for Iowa public school districts, and Mid-Prairie is considering becoming one of the first districts to adopt the new approach.

According to Mid-Prairie Business Manager Jeff Swartzentruber, the new structure was presented by Jester Insurance at a conference and proposes creating a shared insurance pool across as many school districts as possible within the state.

The main benefit of the plan, according to Swartzentruber, would be a significant decrease in the district’s deductible. Currently, the district’s plan has a deductible of 1% of the cost of the building, but the district is spending $61,845 per year to buy that deductible down to a flat $50,000. Swartzentruber says that the deductible within the new structure would be shared across all districts in the pool, and each district would pay a portion of its own deductible based on district size. The example provided outlined that larger districts like Des Moines would have a deductible near $50,000, Mid-Prairie’s would only be $10,000. The rest of the deductible would be covered by pool funds. 

Swartzentruber said he expected the year-one contribution to be lower than the district’s current insurance premium at $36,540, and that losses across the plan and future expectations in year one would determine year two’s payment, with an estimation that it would drop from year one.

He concluded by noting that Jester was initially hoping for a little over half of the state’s school districts to join the pool, but that based on buzz in the room following the presentation, he expected even more districts to pursue the opportunity.

The school board is expected to discuss the insurance pool at its next meeting. A decision would need to be made prior to the first meeting of July.