The Insurance Market Is Still a Challenge, and Here Is Why Enduris Matters
This is my first letter to you as Executive Director, and I want to start simply. As long as the insurance market stays this hard, belonging to Enduris matters more, not less.
You have likely felt it already. Insurance is no longer a line item you set once and forget. Rates move, coverage tightens, and the questions from your board get harder to answer. Let me walk you through what we are seeing, why it is happening, and what your pool did about it this year.
Where the Market Stands, and Why It Matters to You
The insurance industry moves in cycles. In a hard market like the one we are in, carriers raise premiums, tighten what they will cover, and study every risk closely before offering terms. Some lines have begun to ease, but many have not. Commercial auto, excess liability, property in disaster-prone areas, and professional liability all remain difficult to place.
Here is why that matters to you. A single water or fire district standing alone in this market has very little leverage. You are one account, and a carrier can raise your rate or walk away with little consequence. That is the exact problem Enduris was built to solve. Districts came together almost forty years ago because coverage on the open market was either unaffordable or simply unavailable, and that reason has not gone away. When we pool our risk, we steady rates, protect capacity, and give every member strength in the market that none of us would have alone. That is the power of pooling.
You may also notice that carriers now ask for more before they offer their best terms. They look hard at your loss history, your controls, your cybersecurity, and how you manage risk every day. My encouragement is this: do not wait. Even in a year when your renewal came in well, the districts that fare best are the ones that position themselves now. Work with us on your risk management and use the member benefits you already have. They exist to make you a safer, stronger, more resilient district when a loss comes.
What Is Driving Costs Up
The largest driver is the weather. Storms are getting stronger and wildfire seasons are getting longer, and the losses that follow run into the billions year after year. Those losses land on carriers, and carriers pass them along as higher premiums across nearly every line.
Inflation adds to it. What it costs to repair a building, replace equipment, or settle a claim has climbed sharply, and even as inflation cools elsewhere in the economy, those rebuild and repair costs stay high. Carriers price for that.
Then there is litigation. Jury awards are larger, legal costs are higher, and liability claims are more complex than they used to be. This so-called social inflation hits casualty and liability lines especially hard, and it is one of the trends I watch most closely and advocate on your behalf.
Put simply, insurance is no longer a fixed annual expense. It is a strategic decision that shapes your budget and your planning. This is exactly why risk pooling matters. On your own, you face this market as a single customer. As part of Enduris, you have a pool that negotiates for you, advocates for you, and spreads risk across nearly 500 districts so that none of you ever stands alone.
Signs of Improvement—But Not Relief
There is some good news. Parts of the market are steadier than they were. Stronger carrier balance sheets and more available capital have brought a little competition back, and some property and casualty rates are climbing more slowly than in recent years.
I would not mistake that for relief. Severe weather, cyber threats, economic uncertainty, and litigation are all still very real pressures. Most experts expect them to stay with us and expect districts like yours to keep demonstrating strong risk management and to keep realistic expectations about price and availability.
Looking Ahead
The market will likely stay challenging for some time. Even so, I am pleased with where this renewal landed for you. We are still working with our broker to finalize reinsurance placement for PY 2027, and as it stands today, we do not anticipate reductions in the scope of coverage available to members. In fact, we have already secured several meaningful enhancements to coverage limits, at no additional cost to members, including:
- Earthquake – property: Increased to $30,000,000 total
- Fiber Optic utility: Increased to $1,000,000 per loss, $5,000,000 aggregate
- Property, Boiler and Machinery, and Business interruption: Pool capacity increases
- “Upgrade to Green” (post-loss) coverage increased to $10,000,000
Our goal has not changed. We work to provide broad coverage, strong risk management, education, excellent claims service, and personal attention, all at a competitive price. That includes the partnerships and training we offer to help you manage risk in human resources, cyber, and your everyday practices.
Everything we do comes back to one commitment: keeping rates fair, equitable, and sustainable for every member.
Remember, Enduris is owned by you. The member districts are our owners, and it is your peers who serve on our board and make these decisions. We are not a company serving you from the outside. We are your pool.
Thank you for being part of it. I look forward to meeting many of you in the year ahead.
Warm regards,
Holly Nelson
Executive Director
