b'74 INDUSTRY INSIDERDenver Intl Finds Win-Win Solutionto Airside Insurance QuandaryFor many small and medium-sizeddriving had long been a significant hurdle companies, receiving a contractfor smaller and newer service providersPhillip A. Washington or being subcontracted to work attrying to operate airside. She and heris chief executive officer an airport as large as Denver Internationalteam wrestled with how to lower the costof Denver International Airport, the third-busiest Airport (DEN) can open up new doors,of entry to create more opportunities forairport in North America elevate the business profile andsmall businesses and lessen the financialby passenger traffic. significantly improve its financial standing.burden on our current partners. He oversees a more than $10 billion But premium increases for DEN-requiredWe acted to balance competingdollar Capital Improvement Program vehicle insurance historically made workinginterests: maintaining protection forto modernize the airport for 100 million at the airport difficult and sometimes cost- the airport while providing a way forannual passengers.prohibitive. The president of a professionalcontractors to meet insurance obligations. quality control services company that hasWe issued a Request for Proposals (RFP)the product. A business can simply a contract with DEN shared with us thatseeking an insurance broker to partneralert TrueNorth about its need to add a though its work requires employees toon designing a program that could serveparticular vehicle for short-term use on drive on the airfield, the cost to provideboth interests.the airfield, and the increased cost can vehicle insurance went up more thanSeveral companies responded andend whenever the task is finished.450% over five years. The companys onlywe engaged TrueNorth Companies toThere are three primary requirements path forward was to renegotiate muchdevelop a program that would provide afor eligibility. First, businesses must have higher hourly rates with contractors. Butsimpler, more streamlined path to add $9approved airfield access. Secondly, this at some point, small businesses cantmillion excess auto liability coverage to aprogram only covers vehicles designed for just pass along significant cost increasesprimary $1 million policy.use on public roadways. Ineligible vehicles without potentially pricing themselves outinclude autonomous vehicles, ground of the market. The resulting solution, called AirsideDrive, offers affordable coveragesupport vehicles, buses and mobile Once we started to understand thewith up to 84% savings. In addition, itequipment such as golf carts, forklifts and issue better, we learned that virtually everyincludes flexible monthly coverage andconstruction equipment. Thirdly, the loss contractor and concessionaire that drovepayments, paperless enrollment and anhistory of each applying company and its onto DENs airfield was experiencingonline autopay process. drivers is taken into consideration.increasing insurance costs; and manyAirsideDrive has proved to be an were starting to voice concerns. ThatsWhen the AirsideDrive Program was when our risk management team lookedannounced to our list of contractors andinnovative solution that effectively for innovative solutions. concessionaires, companies were initiallybalances the need for risk management skeptical. Some worried that it was toofor DEN, while significantly reducing costs Janet Bressler, our head of Riskgood to be true.for small businesses and other airside Management, smartly identified thatpartnersa rare win-win. the airports important $10 million autoBut among the most-appreciated liability insurance requirement for airsidebenefits is the a la carte nature of September 2025AirportImprovement.comPRINT_1051 AVIRAMP Airport Improvement 25 Full Page Ad.indd 1 30/07/2025 09:28'