Introduction

The City of Council Bluffs Insurance Broker has been the same company since at least the 1980’s. Additionally, a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the City’s Insurance Broker had not been done for at least the last 30+ years. The City determined that it would be in the best interest of taxpayers and the City to do an RFP for our Insurance Broker to ensure that the City is receiving the best value for this service. In October of 2020, the City of Council Bluffs advertised a Request for Proposals for an Insurance Broker.

An insurance broker for a municipality provides a wide arrange of services above securing insurance policies for the municipality. These services include but are not limited to: Offering advice to Risk Management and Legal on interpretations of policy coverage, hazard identification, actuarial support, assessment of risk probability, property valuations, risk mitigation services.

Three Insurance Broker’s responded to the RFP under the professional services process criteria: Gallagher, SilverStone Group, and Smith Davis Insurance. However, Gallagher’s RFP was deemed incomplete as they did not provide the requested cost component.

Firm Overview and Key Personnel

1)     SilverStone Group

SilverStone Group was founded in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1945 and currently have a local office located at 300 West Broadway, Suite 200, Council Bluffs, Iowa. SilverStone has grown to become one of the top 100 largest brokers in the United States.

In December of 2019 SilverStone Group merged with HUB International, the fifth largest insurance broker in the world. This allowed SilverStone to add technical resources, complex analytic platforms, benchmarking and access to virtually all insurers and reinsurers.

Additionally, SilverStone continues to have associates at the local level that include:

·        Account Executive- Kirk Madsen,

·        Account Manager- Dawn Hanson,

·        Director of Risk Management- Nancy Edelman,

·        Senior Claims Representative- Susan Duncan,

·        Claims Manager- Mark McLaughlin,

·        Safety Engineering Manager- Joe Freeman,

·        Advisor/Cyber- Jenny Jacobsen, and

·        Principal- John Marshall.

SilverStone offers comparable risk management programs to over 475 municipalities and counties nationwide and over 2,500 Public Sector clients, including employee benefits and actuarial services to over 150 government entities in Iowa.

2)     Smith Davis Insurance

Smith Davis Insurance is a locally owned independent insurance agency with roots in the community dating back to 1931 and is currently located at 532 First Avenue, Council Bluffs, Iowa. Smith Davis Insurance is headquartered in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with satellite offices in Papillion, Nebraska, and Logan, Iowa.

Smith David Insurance consists of 10 producers and 10 account managers with the following combined work experience of over 100 years:

·        Jeff Brehmer- President: 20+ years

·        James Malone- Consultant: 40+ years

·        Mark Warner- Consultant: 40+ years

·        Kim Arfman- Account Manager: 25+ years

Smith Davis Insurance currently insures municipalities such as: Pottawattamie County, Harrison County, SW Iowa Juvenile, Pottawattamie County Emergency Management, Southwest Iowa MHDS, Lewis Township Fire Department, LOMA School system, Town of Logan, Town of Mondamin, Harrison County Landfill, Town of Pisgah.

Schedule of Fees

1)     SilverStone Group

Total Premium: $1,551,912*

*      All coverage except Workers’ Compensation: $1,324,746

 *     Workers’ Compensation Coverage: $227,166 -includes both Chapter            85  and 411 employees.

Flat Fee: $87,500

Total Cost: $1,639,412

 *Total premium does not include the 1% Iowa Surplus Lines Tax that would apply to any non-admitted carriers.

2)     Smith Davis Insurance

Total Premium: $1,475,891

*      All Coverage Except Excess Workers’ Compensation: $912,732

*      Workers’ Compensation Coverage:

* Chapter 85 (non-sworn employees): $140,810

*       Chapter 411 (police and fire): $422,349

 Commission Total: $112,583.66- included in Total Premium

 Total Cost: $1,475,891

RFP proposals available at the Clerk's Office. 

Committee Information and Recommendation

A committee of three City Personnel from three different City Departments and two industry experts evaluated the proposals- only the three City Personnel submitted scoring sheets. The purpose of the two industry experts was to ensure the committee was evaluating equivalent policies and explaining differences in the proposed polices.

The committee’s goal was to choose the best insurance broker based on the following criteria: Relevant Experience and Firm Qualifications, Relevant Experience and Qualifications of Key Personnel, Satisfactorily Completed Similar Services, and Cost.

Based on all of the reviewed information and weighing all the above factors the consensus of the three member committee determined that the best insurance brokerage for the City of Council Bluffs’ Insurance Broker would be SilverStone Group based on SilverStone Group’s superior Relevant Experience and Firm Qualifications, Relevant Experience and Qualifications of Key Personnel, and Satisfactorily Completed Similar Services.