Pennsylvania's Westmoreland County has decided to buy workers' compensation insurance after years of being self-insured, TribLive.com reported.

County commissioners voted 2-1 in favor of the change on Thursday. The vote authorized the county to spend $1.63 million on a workers' compensation and liability insurance policy from the Housing and Redevelopment Insurance Exchange, which covers municipalities and housing authorities in the state. The policy's one-year term begins April 1. 

Commissioner Ted Kopas voted against the change, saying it would cost the county about $400,000 more this year.

Commissioner Charles Anderson, who voted for the change alongside Commissioner Gina Cerilli, said "the proof will be over the next year or so" that it was a good move to route claims to a carrier instead of handling them internally. He said decades-old claims are still being paid out of a reserve fund.

Read TribLive.com's story here.