CARIBOU, Maine — City officials recently have learned that a glitch over insurance coverage has been rectified and that the city will receive an additional $130,000 to help replace an ambulance that was destroyed in an accident in August.
When the city switched to Maine Municipal Association insurance services “two or three years ago,” according to Caribou Fire and Ambulance Chief Scott Susi, city officials believed that every municipal vehicle was fully covered.
But after an ambulance driver fell asleep at the wheel and the vehicle hit a utility pole in August, city officials were told that the ambulance only was covered for liability and not collision. The insurance company paid the city only $24,000 initially to cover the damages.
The coverage was supposed to be for both liability and collision, however, and due to a glitch, the city had only been billed for liability. That error since has been addressed, according to Susi, who said it only cost the city a “few hundred dollars” to bring the coverage back to where it was supposed to be and to pay the difference for the premiums over the last few months.
With the correction, the city also has been compensated for the full value of the ambulance, approximately $160,000.
Susi said he was “elated” when he heard the news.
The chief said that the extra money will help Caribou purchase a new ambulance to replace the one that crashed, a decision City Council voted forward during a September 11 meeting. The fire department also has agreed to trade in an old fire truck to the company, Autotronics, from which it is buying the ambulance.
While Susi said the department is still negotiating a price for the trade-in, he’s fairly confident that the purchase will be close to a wash with the extra money from MMA and the trade.
Susi said the new ambulance was ordered just hours after councilors gave their blessing.
“We ordered it that night,” Susi said. “It’s right around $200,000, and should be close to a wash once we trade in the old fire truck.”
