City of Decorah is switching insurance carriers

For the first time in a number of years, the City of Decorah's property and casualty insurance will not be through Continental Western Insurance.

The Decorah City Council Monday night unanimously approved City Administrator Chad Bird's recommendation that the city switch to the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool ("ICAP"), a cooperative of 70 Iowa counties, 340 Iowa communities and numerous other governmental groups.

The switch will have few immediate impacts for the city--except saving around $5,000 a year in expenses.  But the city would have to take pending claims with it if the city drops out of the cooperative arrangement in the future.

Winneshiek County has been a longtime ICAP member.  Bird says county officials say they have been pleased with the way the program operates.