PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County financial department is expecting an increase in what the county pays for insurance as part of the Washington Counties Risk Pool.
County Administrator Todd Mielke presented to the county commissioners Monday, sharing information he received from the Washington Counties Risk Pool (WCRP) fall board meeting on Oct. 24.
For 2025, Clallam County’s base rate for insurance is $2.276, which is the rate per worker hour that the county contributes to insurance, Mielke said. The total contribution is $52.1 million with estimated payouts set at $45.2 million.
For 2026, three options were presented. Option A is a 35 percent increase, changing the base rate to $3.073 and the total contribution to $73.3 million and estimated payouts set at $57.9 million.
Option B is a 45 percent increase, changing the base rate to $3.30 and the total contribution to $78.7 million and estimated payouts set at $57.9 million.
Option C is a 55 percent increase, changing the base rate to $3.528 and the total contribution to $84.1 million with estimated payouts set at $57.9 million.
“I’ll just admit I figured I would go ahead and get the first motion out to be debated on the floor and so I just jumped in and said I’m gonna go for the lowest option available and ask the question: If we pursue option A, does that keep us above the red and it keeps the pool slightly above the regulatory minimum with regard to reserves,” Mielke said.
Earlier in his presentation, he explained that the risk pool is required to be at about $20 million in reserves to cover claims.
“If we are below the regulatory minimum, we are at risk of a regulatory dissolution and I don’t know how that benefits any one of us,” Mielke said.
The risk pool Clallam County is part of includes 23 other counties.
During the fall board meeting, the counties landed on using option A, Mielke said.
The 35 percent increase for 2026 will be more than what was seen for 2025 and 2024, which were both 20 percent increases, but less than the 40 percent increase the county saw in 2023.
The risk pool has multiple layers of insurance. The counties are self insured up to $3 million, then Safety National covers the next $5 million in claims. The counties are self insured again for claims in the $8 million to $10 million range. From $10 million to $15 million, two companies share the coverage for the counties.
There’s another layer of coverage from $15 million to $17.5 million and another for $17.5 million to $20 million. A final layer of insurance is offered from $20 million to $25 million, but not all counties take part in that layer. Clallam County is one of the few counties that is insured through that final layer, according to the presentation.
The counties are covered for five different types of insurance: Liability, property, cyber, crime and terrorism.
Clallam County currently has six liability claims it’s working on, with one expected to go to trial in the middle or end of January, commissioners were told.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
