Levee district may need to self-insure.

The entity in charge of the now infamous levee and floodwall system in New Orleans that failed when Hurricane Katrina struck is considering self-insuring its liability risks.

The Board of Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District met Feb. 9 to consider also whether to go bare--as a neighboring levee district was forced to do recently--or renew liability coverage that expired Feb. 7 at a rate seven to eight times higher than before, Safety Risk Director Carol Kiefer said.

In the past five months, more than 30 insurers have declined the district's requests for coverage, and St. Paul Travelers Cos., which since 2000 had been providing general and excess general liability insurance coverage, as well as police professional liability, notified the district in August of its intention to retire the account effective Feb. 7.

St. Paul confirmed it had offered to renew at a significant increase in premium and deductible obligation.