Southeast Area : Ambulance Insurance

After being dropped by their insurance companies, Adams Ambulance Co. of South Gate and about 95 California ambulance services have formed an insurance company in order to meet the $1-million liability coverage required by many cities.

Adams, which provides paramedic service to the city of Lynwood and ambulance service to the cities of Downey, Bell Gardens, Lakewood, Bellflower and Norwalk, was able to meet those cities’ requirements for $1 million in liability coverage before July 1 when Adams’ insurance policy expired.

Tri-Star Insurance Co., a Phoenix-based company, was formed by members of the California Ambulance Assn. and various ambulance companies in Arizona, according to William F. Gregg, a spokesman for Gregg-Miller & Associates of Phoenix. Gregg-Miller & Associates is the insurance consultant for the American Ambulance Assn.

According to Gregg, insurance through Tri-Star is available to all California ambulance companies, who will be evaluated according to normal underwriting standards.

“There was a great urgency in getting this off the ground because most of the providers’ policies expired at midnight, June 30,” said Gregg. “They could not have provided ambulance service. It was a very close call.”

In May, Jerel W. Jorgenson, president of Adams, sent letters to the cities he serves requesting that Adam’s liability coverage be reduced to $500,000. City officials in Lakewood, Bell Gardens and Downey recommended that the request be approved until Adams could find a carrier.

“This really is good news for us and the community,” said Gaylord Ailshie, executive vice president for the Los Angeles County Ambulance Assn. “Without insurance, one accident could put an ambulance company out of business.”

Other ambulance companies serving the Southeast area include Aids Medical Enterprises Inc. in Whittier and Bowers Ambulance Service in Long Beach.