by Amber N. Johns

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced July 12 that new building insurance and towing contracts have saved the city thousands of dollars.

Curtatone said that as a result of Somverville’s new competitive bidding process, the city realized savings of 15 percent while including new regulations and a significant increase in coverage in the plan.

Towing contracts also went on the market, earning the city an extra $10 per towed vehicle, an estimated 70 percent increase in yearly revenue, he said.

“This is why we’ve brought competitive bidding to our contracts,” Curtatone said.

“The savings on each contract are relatively small, but, taken together, they add up. It just makes good business sense,” he said.

The mayor said the city acquired price quotes for building insurance from seven brokers; Liberty Mutual offered the lowest price of $151,317. This saves the city more than $23,000 in insurance costs.

The new policy includes terrorism coverage in its building insurance policy. “Terrorism coverage is now considered necessary for public buildings,” he said.

“We want to save dollars wherever we can, and bring market pressures to bear on this process often produces results,” Curtatone said.