Trumbull County insurance warrants review by the state

What's wrong with this picture?
Trumbull County commissioners Joseph Angelo and James Tsagaris insist that their decision to hire Arthur Gallagher & amp; Co. insurance to provide the county with auto and liability coverage has saved the taxpayers a lot of money, but when pressed, they're unable to provide any figures to support their contention.
The two commissioners also say that the county is paying a lot less for insurance than it was three years ago when it was part of an insurance program run through the Ohio County Commissioners' Association, but are dumbstruck when presented with the fact that the county has racked up $70,000 in fees charged by Arthur Gallagher.
And, Angelo and Tsagaris continue to argue that the insurance coverage through Gallagher is far superior to the one offered by the commissioners association -- even though Gallagher won't cover claims less than $50,000, whereas the threshold in the previous plan was $5,000.
In layman's terms, Trumbull County has an insurance policy that would pay zilch, zero, nada if a deputy sheriff wrecked a brand-new car.
Indeed, as Vindicator reporter Stephen Siff, who has been investigating the county's insurance coverage, revealed Sunday, when Commissioner Tsagaris' county-owned car was stolen from the driveway of his home in 2003 and discovered torched less than 24 hours later, the claim filed was for a mere $500. That was to pay the towing company that recovered the car.
It was not for the value of the car because it was worth less than $50,000, which meant the insurance company, under the contract agreed to by Angelo and Tsagaris, did not have to pay.
County on the hook
To add insult to the injury being suffered by the taxpayers because of actions of the two commissioners, Gallagher paid the towing company and then billed the county for the full amount of the tow.
In going through whatever records are available, and in talking to the Trumbull County Independent Insurance Agents Association, which has conducted its own review, reporter Siff has found that in the three years since the switch, Gallagher paid the claims submitted by the county and, in more instances than not, billed back all the expenses to county government.
What's wrong with this picture? Everything.
It is worth recalling that when Angelo and Tsagaris first decided to abandon the insurance program under the auspices of the Ohio County Commissioners' Association and hire Gallagher, their colleague at the time, Michael O'Brien, publicly challenged the decision. O'Brien is now mayor of Warren.
Angelo and Tsagaris say they have asked Arthur Gallagher & amp; Co. to provide them with all the details pertaining to deductibles and claims paid, but given their obvious bias, we are not willing to take at face value what the two commissioners may have to say.
Thus, we call on the director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, Ann Womer Benjamin, to launch a formal investigation of Trumbull County's insurance.
Womer Benjamin's department is charged by state law with ensuring that consumers of insurance in Ohio are protected. Trumbull County's taxpayers are the consumers, since they're paying the $520,000 a year in premiums to Gallagher.
The public deserves an unbiased, objective, knowledgeable analysis of what has transpired since Angelo and Tsagaris decided to make the switch.