Thursday, February 2.1 y 1986/The Battalion Page 3
State and Local
Wr,:
ai
surance crisis affecting CS, A&M
official says jury awards causing premiums to go up
I
By HOMER JACOBS
Reporter
Texas A&M is one of many
universities across the nation that
is feeling the crunch of an insur-
tice crisis.
■ohn Honea, director of the
KM Insurance and Risk Man
agement Office, says worldwide
atastrophes and extravagant
ary awards to plaintiffs have
helped escalate insurance premi-
“The companies want the least exposure to risk. ...”
John Honea, director of the A&M Insurance and
Risk Management Office.
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iColleges aren’t any different
|m the private sector,” he says.
“We’re experiencing what every-
ililr fxxly else is.”
|Honea says damage claims
fom hurricanes last year drained
■ coverage capacity of many of
the companies that cover colleges
and universities.
[The companies can only in-
Dbei
jure so much,” he says.
HUthough A&M’s losses haven’t
exceeded its premiums, rates are
still going up, Honea says. He
gthai
says he doesn’t know how much
the University spends on insur
ance each year but that it is a
small percentage of its operating
costs.
He says it doesn’t matter how
reliable the university is; if the in
surance company is losing
money, the cost of obtaining in
surance is going to increase.
He says A&M also is now using
Canadian and Spanish insurance
companies.
“We’ve had to have multiple
carriers cover a project because
companies can’t afford it alone,”
Honea says.
Honea also blames the legal
system for high insurance costs.
He says the legal system has failed
to put a cap on punitive damages,
which has led to larger awards.
Jerry Cain, associate general
counsel of the Texas A&M Uni
versity System, says the legal sys
tem is awarding damages for
pain, suffering and mental an
guish that are too high.
“One solution is to cap the re
covery limit on non-economic los
ses,” Cain says.
Cain also says he favors educat
ing the jury by telling them that
the insurance companies are re
sponsible for paying awarded
damages. He says juries often for
get that damages are paid by
higher premiums.
Honea says although A&M’s
premiums are increasing, the
number of claims taken out has
remained steady.
He says some companies will
even re-insure themselves with
other insurance companies be
fore actually bidding on a client.
“The companies want the least
exposure to risk, but the greatest
return on premiums,” Honea
says.
Honea says A&M might self-in
sure to keep hurricanes and
earthquakes from interfering
with the costs of premiums.
Cain says A&M either may
have to go without insurance, get
more money from the state to buy
insurance, or self-insure if rates
continue rising.
Honea says insurance compa
nies last year payed $5.5 billion
more in damages than they col
lected in premiums, making the
problem a national crisis.
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S investigating options to renewing its liability coverage
,
By CRAIG RENFRO
Staff Writer
he city of College Station cur
rently is looking at insurance cov-
mge possibilities and trying to
lecide what type of policy be
suits its needs.
The city’s general comprehen
sive liability coverage expired
Ian 1 and liability coverage for
city officials expired Jan. 15.
To renew the city’s total cover
age would cost $665,000, said
Glenn Schroeder, the city’s dep
uty director of finance.
He said this is an increase of
)0,000 from last year’s cost.
|Schroeder said the rise in in-
found surance costs is because of an in-
ajorpt
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creasing number of nationwide
claims.
“Frequently when claims come
up they are large,” he said. “And
insurance companies don’t want
to risk it, so they charge a higher
premium.”
However, Schroeder said Col
lege Station has had only one
claim more than $100,000 in the
last seven years.
Currently the city is looking at
two possibilities of coverage, he
said.
For $10,000 the city has hired
Self Insurance Resource Inc., of
Richardson, to look into the feasi
bility of a self-insurance program
for the city.
Schroeder said the benefits of a
self-insurance program are that
the city would not pay a premium
to an insurance company and
would not have to rely on unsta
ble nationwide insurance market
prices.
“We are currently looking at
the types of policies available to
see if self-insurance is feasible,”
Schroeder said. “If it (self-insur
ance) is properly managed it can
save money in the long run.”
The results of the consultant’s
study will be ready by April 1, in
time for the preparation of the
1986-87 city budget.
Under the self-insurance pro
gram a separate fund would be
set up to cover the city’s insurance
needs, Schroeder said.
Schroeder said another possi
bility for coverage is the Texas
Municipal League insurance pro
gram.
Under this program a number
of cities across the state contrib
ute money to an insurance pool
managed by the TML, he said.
The cost for the basic package
is $665,000, and Schroeder said
that cost is too high.
Schroeder said the city is ap
pealing to the TML to qualify for
a “large city” insurance program.
Under that program the city
would pay $360,000 for coverage,
he said. -
Student Senate
OKs change
in polling site
By FRANK SMITH
Staff Writer
The Student Senate Wednesday
night approved a polling site change
for the student runoff elections
scheduled for April 9.
The Senate also heard the first
readings of five new bills and held
another bill in committee, which
originally had been scheduled for
Senate debate.
Chris Gavras, election co-commis
sioner, told the Senate that because
of a scheduling conflict the Pavilion
will not be available as a runoff site
for this year’s elections. Instead, the
Senate approved the election com
mission’s recommendation that bal
loting be conducted on the porch of
the Sterling C. Evans Library. Other
polling sites for the runoff, all of
which were approved at the Feb. 12
Senate meeting, include the Memo
rial Student Center and the Blocker
Building.
Polling sites for the April 2 gen
eral election remain the same. They
include the MSC, Blocker and the
Pavilion. In addition, the porch of
the Evans Library will be available as
a nighttime voting site for both the
general and runoff elections.
In other business, a bill which rec
ommends the construction of at least
four outdoor campus directories to
aid visitors and new students, was re
tained in the student services com
mittee because of questions of avail
able Financing for the project.
Four of the Five new bills intro
duced Wednesday are products of
the Senate’s rules and regulations
committee. The other new bill rec
ommends that Texas A&M’s shuttle
bus system provide students with
schedules of individual routes when
shuttle passes are issued.
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discuss Battalion editorial page at Sully’s Symposium
By SUSAN CLARK
and
RICHARD PEARCE
Reporters
The Battalion editorial page editor, Loren
iffy, said Wednesday at Sully’s Symposium
there are many misconceptions about
:editorial page.
One is that many people think Karl Pal-
eyer speaks for the Battalion staff, Steffy
d,but what he writes is his opinion only.
Steffy and columnists Cynthia Gay and
Pallmeyer, spoke to a crowd of about 120 stu
dents.
Stacey Allen, chairwoman of the sympo
sium, said, “Usually we have between 50 to
60 people show up. This was the largest
crowd we’ve had this semester.”
Allen said that just when she thought the
discussion would really heat up, it turned to
more technical matters.
Gay said she likes to present an optimistic
view of A&M and prefers to write on values
and outlooks, as opposed to politics. But she
doesn’t like to preach to readers of her col
umn, she said.
Gay also said traditions set A&M apart and
the students should support them.
Although sometimes she feels pressured to
be more controversial in her column, Gay
said, she would rather write about subjects
everyone can relate to.
Pallmeyer, starting his speech with a
howdy, said he doesn’t hate the things he
criticizes in his column. He looks at his sub
jects objectively, he said, but with cynicism
and with humor.
Students should think about traditions,
but shouldn’t let them interfere with educa
tion, Pallmeyer said.
Pallmeyer, a self-proclaimed agnostic, said
he has a humanistic view of life. He said peo
ple are stuck in this life and should do as
much as they can to leave something behind
to better the lives of others.
Steffy, when asked why The Battalion
opinion page always seems to be negative,
said negative things need to be brought to
light so they can be changed. He added that
he tries to balance the good and the bad by
offering both sides of any issue.
Pallmeyer said, “It’s the negative things
that need to be brought out into the light so
that they can be changed.”
COME AND MEET
THOSE
DANCING FEET!
BROADWAY BEGINS AT
DAVID MERRICK’S
Dlr*ct»d and Choreographed by
GOWER CHAMPION
Ct
BEST MUSICAL
TONY AWARD 1981
Sponsored by
MSC Town Hall Broadway
February 27 Rudder Auditorium
Tickets: MSC Box Office and
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VISA and MasterCard accepted.
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The toughest job
you’ll ever love
4
V '
We admit it. It takes a dif
ferent kind of person to be a Peace
Corps volunteer.
We won’t mislead you with
glowing pictures of exotic lands. The
hours as a volunteer are long. The
pay is modest. And the frustrations
sometimes seem overwhelming. But
the satisfaction and rewards are im
mense. You’ll be immersed in a new
culture, become fluent in a new
language, and learn far more about
the third world — and yourself —
than you ever expected.
You’ll also discover that prog
ress brought about by Peace Corps
volunteers is visible and measurable:
Such as health clinics established in
the Philippines; Fresh-water fish
ponds constructed in Kenya; roads
and schools and irrigation systems
built in Upper Volta; tens of thou
sands of people given essential skills
in farming, nutrition, the skilled
INFORMATION BOOTH
8:30 to 5:00
March 4: Zachary Hall
March 5: Overseas Day, MSC
March6: MSC
trades, business, forestry, and other
specialties throughout the develop
ing world.
Being a volunteer isn’t for
everyone, and it isn’t easy, but to the
people of the developing nations
who have never before had basic'*
health care or enough to eat, the
Peace Corps brings a message of
hope and change.
We invite you to look into the
volunteer opportunities beginning in
the next 3-12 months in Africa,
Asia, Latin America, and the Pa
cific. Our representatives will be
pleased to provide you with details.
PEACE
CORPS
FREE FILM
Rudder Tower, 6:30 p.m.
March 4: Room 510
March 5: Room 504
INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED
March 5 and 6
Sign up in advance at the Placement Office, Rudder Tower
Call 845-4722 or come by Room 103, Ag Bldg, for more info
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