Ribbon cut on Delaware Department of Insurance office

Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro cut the ribbon during a ceremony to commemorate the opening of the Delaware Department of Insurance’s new Dover office location at 1351 West North St., Suite 101.

The department moved from its original location in the Silver Lake Office Complex in Dover to its new site July 15. Also in attendance were Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, State Auditor Kathy McGuiness, and Dover City Councilmen Fred Neil and Bill Hare.

In 2018, department members began relocation efforts to improve Delaware consumers’ ability to visit the office so their needs could be better met. This included expanded parking and improved handicapped access, in addition to a significant rent savings of over $150,000 during the first year.

Over the 15-year lease term with DGKP North, the building’s owner, Navarro said the rent savings would exceed $2 million compared with the rent in the previous location.

Additional savings included relocating existing furniture, computers and video equipment, and reducing document storage by more than 100 square feet. Several construction modifications had been made to the interior of the previous office that became cramped over the past two decades, and the Department of Insurance was out of space. The new building is a more efficient design employing the latest technology for energy efficiency. The footprint of the new building is a 13 percent increase in space, with a 30 percent reduction in rent per square foot.

Navarro said, “I’m pleased that we were able to move to a new building with these enhancements and save taxpayers money at the same time. We now have a conference room that can accommodate our entire staff. A move of this magnitude is never easy. I have to commend our internal staff who worked on this project, as it was completed on time and on budget.”