THREE local authorities have saved more than £1million in their insurance costs after teaming up for an innovative partnership.Babergh, Suffolk Coastal and Waveney district councils have driven down their bills by a collective total of £1.

THREE local authorities have saved more than £1million in their insurance costs after teaming up for an innovative partnership.

Babergh, Suffolk Coastal and Waveney district councils have driven down their bills by a collective total of £1.3m.

Chris Punt, Waveney's portfolio holder for performance, said: “We have a duty to the council tax payer to provide high quality services and to use the resources available to us as wisely and efficiently as possible. Thanks to the efforts of three neighbouring councils we have made a saving that can only benefit the people we serve.”

Humphrey Todd, Babergh's procurement champion, added: “We are constantly seeking out ways of reducing costs and delivering services more efficiently especially by working in partnership - this five-year contract is yet another example as to how successful we are in this.”

The new five year contract with Zurich Municipal will begin shortly and will include an option to extend by a further two years.