BOE takes high bid on auto insurance

The Madison County School Board voted 3-2 last month to approve State Farm for its auto insurance policy, agreeing to pay nearly $5,000 more than a quote by Trident.

Board members Jim Patton and Greg Wilkes voted against the move, while Robert Hooper, Leslie Neal and Arlen Johnson voted for the action.

The Journal asked assistant superintendent Bonnie Knight for clarification on what the two proposals stated.

“The first quote was from Franklin Insurance who has handled the systems property insurance for years,” wrote Knight. “It recommended using Trident who is an insurance carrier that specializes in public entities like county governments and school systems. The other quotes were from State Farm who has carried the system auto insurance for several years.”

Knight noted that policy quotes for $1 million in liability and $1 million in uninsured motorists coverage were $31,636 with Trident and $40,767 with State Farm — a $9,131 difference.

The board then asked for quotes on lesser uninsured motorist coverage.

“Dropping the uninsured motorists coverage to 25/50/25 as quoted in the past by State Farm, the quotes were $31,136 for Trident and $36,023 for State Farm,” wrote Knight. “The board chose to stay with the 25/50/25 uninsured motorists coverage and State Farm so our premium will be $4,887 higher than it would have been if we changed to Trident.”

The 25/50/25 coverage refers to maximum payouts in the thousands for bodily injury per individual, bodily injury per accident and property damage per vehicle.

Patton, who along with Wilkes, voted against staying with State Farm, said he voted that way because extra money for the school system is needed in today’s economy. However, he said the board decided to stay with State Farm because they are local and have a good track record with the school system.

Leslie Neal said the board’s decision was primarily based on staying with a local company.

“The people we were buying it from, they do make donations and support a lot of activities at the schools,” said Neal. “We actually wanted them to get closer (in bid price). We made the decision if they could get it within a few thousand dollars, we’d go that way.”

Wilkes said he wasn’t comfortable paying more money for less insurance coverage — a $1 million uninsured motorist policy versus a 25/50/25 policy.

“You’re talking about a busload of kids,” said Wilkes. “And I just think you need to get as much coverage as you can.”