One of the ideas rising to the top of the Alaska Seafood Task Force’s forthcoming recommendations is an insurance pool for commercial fishermen.
The state legislative task force plans to release a full list of a dozen potential bills next month to address a downturn in the seafood market. But the group’s chairperson shared some information in advance with the Kodiak Fisheries Work Group on Dec. 18.
State Senator Gary Stevens of Kodiak, told members of the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly and City Council that he would like to use a model the Alaska Municipal League is using for sharing its communities’ insurance costs.
This is known as the Alaska Municipal League Joint Insurance Association (AMLJIA), which is a self-insurance pool owned and paid for by the municipalities and school districts that make up its membership.
“A pooling process that really has saved a lot of money for the cities and boroughs in Alaska because of getting a lower rate for insurance," Stevens said. "So I think we can try to do that for fishermen.”
Stevens said he’s heard from some fishermen who can’t afford the expensive insurance deductibles and premiums for their boats. Some have chosen to not purchase insurance which he said could lead to a dangerous situation for everybody. According to Stevens the pooled insurance could potentially cover property and casualty insurance but not health insurance for fishermen.
Longtime Kodiak fisherman Alexus Kwachka told KMXT during its Talk of the Rock program, that aired last month on Nov. 26, that his insurance costs have increased significantly in the last year or two, in part because of climate change impacts around the country.
"And the costs are directly associated with what’s going on around the world. My insurance on my boat has gone up, I don’t know, 30% in the last two years," Kwachka said. "That’s not necessarily from industry in Alaska, that’s from the impacts that are happening in Florida where the hurricane season; I think we’re on our 18th named storm this summer, that’s a really high event.”
High insurance costs have long plagued Alaska fishermen, with some seeing deductibles of $10,000 to $15,000 annually according to one trade group, the United Fishermen of Alaska.
Some fishermen advocated to the Legislature last year to raise the maximum payout from the state’s fishermen’s fund, which covers the cost of treatment and care for injured commercial fishermen, to be more in line with the higher cost of insurance. The Alaska Fishermen’s Fund is financed through the revenue from resident and nonresident commercial fishermen’s licenses and permit fees.
Earlier this year, during the last legislative session, Senate Bill 93 was signed into law which raised the maximum payment per injury to $15,000. Previously that amount was capped at $10,000, and owners of commercial fishing vessels could only request coverage of insurance deductibles for injured or sick crew members up to $5,000. That limit has been raised to $15,000 as well.
Stevens told the Kodiak Fisheries Work Group that he can’t give any more details right now on the potential insurance pool legislation, nor how this will differ from the existing fishermen’s fund. But he said there will be some sort of proposed bill introduced in mid-January to begin working its way through the Legislature.
The Alaska Seafood Task Force is scheduled to meet again on Jan. 9 & 10 to potentially finalize its recommendations.
