North Dakota’s Fire and Tornado Fund has upped the amount of re-insurance it’s buying to protect public buildings.
If a public building is damaged or destroyed, the Fire and Tornado Fund pays the first $1 million of damage, and the re-insurance policy pays the rest – up to $175 million. The state Insurance Department – which administers the fund – asked the state Industrial Commission to increase that coverage to 225-million dollars.
Jeff Bitz administers the Fire and Tornado Fund. He says the value of public buildings has increased dramatically.
"When I started with the fund, our insured value was $3.5 billion," said Bitz. "That was in 1999. Today, we're at over $11 billion."
And Bitz says it will soon approach $12 billion.
"With increased property values, and with new construction that will be placed on the books, such as the additional expansion of the prison system and the Heritage Center, all the public sector work going on in western North Dakota, and with out college and universities, the value will rise," said Bitz.
The premium for the re-insurance policy will be $2.8 million. The policy was used to replace the Northwood School, destroyed in a tornado. The replacement cost $8.8 million. The Fire and Tornado Fund paid $1 million, and the re-insurance policy picked up the rest.
