BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

INDEPENDENCE — A high-volume of claims and lawsuits against Montgomery County in the past three years has forced the county’s liability insurance provider to drop a portion of its coverage, county commissioners learned on Monday.

Rob Gill of the Jim Gill Agency in Cherryvale and Dave Dennis and Doug Buckles of the Independence firm Newkirk, Dennis and Buckles informed commissioners that EMC Insurance Companies had decided to drop the county of its coverage of workers compensation and public officials liability. Buckles said that since Jan. 1, 2006, the county had amassed a three-year premium of $923,094 while incurring insurance coverage losses of $1,083,699.

According to a report of claims filed against Montgomery County since Jan. 1, 2006, commissioners learned that 77 separate claims had been filed against the county. Forty-one of those claims were filed against the county sheriff’s department while 24 were filed against the public works department. Five were filed against the rural fire department, four were filed against the county commission and county clerk, two were filed against the county health department, and one was filed against the county attorney’s office.

EMC Insurance Companies provide liability insurance coverage for most city and county governments in Kansas. The liability insurance coverage includes six areas: inland marine, business automobile, property, general liability, public officials liability and workers’ compensation.

Buckles will return to the commission next Monday, Dec. 1, to present proposals from other insurance carriers. A decision on naming a new insurance carrier will have to be made that day as the county’s current liability insurance package will expire on Dec. 1.

Following the news of EMS Insurance Companies’ decision to drop its insurance coverage, commissioner Tony Fowler suggested that county employees should have more training on workplace issues as a way to avoid more claims.

“Right now, the insurance is all out of our control,” he said, referring to workers’ compensation. “Some $671,000 in insurance losses came out of one department only. That’s just one place where there could be some more guidance.”

Fowler was referring to $671,000 in insurance losses coming from the county sheriff’s department since Jan. 1, 2006. The dollar amount in insurance losses in other departments over a three-year period include:

• County health department: $227,824.

• Public works department: $103,004.

• County attorney: $49,320.

• Rural fire department: $19,979.

• County commission/county clerk: $13,265.

Commissioner Gene Tucker said some of those issues involving workplace matters will be cleared up when several new county officials assume their offices in January.

“There’s a new sheriff in town,” said Tucker, referring to sheriff-elect Bobby Dierks, who was elected county sheriff in the Nov. 4 general election.