OSBIE announces refund of more than $12 million to members

Members of the Ontario School Boards’ Insurance Exchange (OSBIE) will receive a record-breaking premium refund of more than $12 million thanks to a concerted focus on risk management and loss control, OSBIE announced Friday.

Representing 30% of OSBIE’s annual written premium, the refund was announced during the exchange’s board meeting in September.

Beyond the refund, OSBIE has also informed members they will benefit from rate decreases – attributed to a sustained reduction in claims frequency – across all lines of business for the 2017 renewal.

Specifically, Liability members will get a 5% rate decrease, Property members will get a 7.5% rate decrease and Auto members will get a 12% rate decrease, notes a statement from the exchange, a school board-owned, non-profit insurance program.

“Our performance this year was exceptional and that enabled us to provide this refund and still maintain a solid capital foundation. We know our members are diligent about expenditures and this refund comes at an opportune time,” says OSBIE CEO Jim H. Sami.

“Working together with members, our focus has been on risk management and loss control and it’s translating into savings,” Sami continues, further reporting that 95% of members “have committed to a further five-year subscription.”

With 106 members representing 78 school boards and 28 joint ventures in Ontario, OSBIE currently provides the following lines of insurance to our members: General Liability, Property, Boiler/Machinery, Employee Crime and Fleet Automobile, notes information on its website.

Members of OSBIE, which will celebrate its 30th year in business in 2017, benefit from customized coverages and quality risk management products and services, the statement notes.

OSBIE recognizes the evolving needs of its members and continually introduces new coverages, such as drone liability coverage and cyber coverage, it adds.