Insurance Commission Minutes 09/26/2012 APPROVED AS AMENDED
TOWN OF SIMSBURY
INSURANCE COMMITTEE
Minutes of Regular Meeting - APPROVED AS AMENDED
Board of Education Conference Room
September 26, 2012
The meeting began at 7:35 a.m. Committee members Nick Mason, Ed Sparkowski, Paul Mikkelson and Jack Sennott were present. Mr. Sennott is the newest member. Burke LaClair, the Board of Education Business Manager, and Tom Cooke, the Director of Administrative Services for the Town of Simsbury were also present. Robert Lindberg, of Lindberg and Ripple was not present. Carol Fitzsimons of CIRMA (Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency) was in attendance as well.
Mr. Mason made a motion to approve the June 2012 minutes. Mr. Mikkelson seconded. The motion carried and the minutes were approved.
1. Employee Benefits Update - Robert Lindberg (Via report).
While Mr. Lindberg was not present, he submitted a 4-page Insurance Advisory Committee Report. The report focused on the both town and the BOE plans.
Page 1: An overview of medical and dental claim activity from 2008 to 2012, and
renewal results / allocation rate changes from July 1, 2008 to July 1, 2012.
Page 2: A claim comparison chart for combined ASO Medical and Pharmacy claims.
(July 2010 – July 2013)
Page 3: A claim comparison chart for Dental ASO claims. (July 2010 – July 2013)
Page 4: An overview of enrollment information / # of subscribers in the medical and dental
plans from July 2011 to July 2012.
General discussion included the following points:
· Town officials have looked into the state’s health partnership plan for municipalities. For now, they’ve determined that it is not a good deal. They will continue to follow developments. Mr. Lindberg sends regular updates.
• Historically, the town has done very well with its self-funded employee benefit plan. About 730 + employees participate. Two carriers—Cigna and Connecticare—manage the plan and offer administrative services and group discounts. The committee annually reviews whether it would be more efficient to have one carrier.
· The committee discussed offering a wider range of benefit options such as High Deductible (HD) Plans.
· The committee noted that it has been about 5 years since it re-examined the town’s insurance vendor / agent. They discussed putting it out to bid again, but decided that they would wait another 2 years. The Federal Health Exchange Plan, to be launched in 2014, will change the market and its offerings. They felt that it would be better to re-evaluate its vendor after the federal plan is in place.
2. Property Casualty Insurance Issues - Carol Fitzsimons of CIRMA
On behalf of CIRMA, Ms. Fitzsimons presented 3 reports.
Loss experiences for the Town of Simsbury and the Board of Education were illustrated in a four page report with color bar charts. This report noted losses as of August 31, 2012. It showed trends over a six year period from July 1, 2006 to July 1, 2012. Highlights:
Worker’s Compensation (WC):
· The 2010-2011 year showed the highest amount of WC losses over the 6-year period. Ms. Fitzsimons explained that this was a result of a series of large losses. This included 9 losses for the town, each averaging over $25,000. In addition, there were 8 losses for the police department, with one totaling nearly $200,000.
· The annual claim count, by department, has remained pretty consistent. The frequency of claims has not increased, but the severity has.
· In the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 plan years, the BOE and the police department account for the majority of claims.
· From 2006 to 2012, the WC renewal increase rate has remained flat.
· Since our last meeting in June, not much has changed in WC losses.
·
Liability-Auto-Property (LAP) Losses:
· The 2009-2010 and the 2010-2011 plan years showed the highest amount of LAP losses within the last 6 years. Ms. Fitzsimons acknowledged that there are many variables that cannot be controlled with a LAP policy. Historically the police department and the BOE have seen the most automotive losses. This is not surprising, since police work is unpredictable, and Simsbury owns a large fleet of school busses.
· Since June 27 of this year, there were 3 new LAP losses over $25,000. Other significant loss changes since then include: Public officials liability - $45,000 (CHRO) for the 2010-2011 plan year. General Liability - $50,000 – Tree trimming fatality for the 2012-2013 plan year. School leader’s liability - $42,000 (CHRO) for the 2012-2013 plan year.
Renewal Summary. Ms. Fitzsimons reported that it was a good year for CIRMA. They had a 100% retention / renewal rate, and were able to add new members to the pool. Some of the new members have come from the dissolved MIRMA pool. So that the risk to the entire pool will be as low as possible, CIRMA is performing upfront assessments and being very choosy about who they add.
Worker’s Compensation (WC):
· For the 2012-2013 plan year, Simsbury experienced modest increases in WC renewals. The town increased 22 points to 1.05 and the BOE increased 5 points to .81
The above listed changes were to each WC experience modification, and not to the final renewal premium.
Environmental / Pollution Coverage
· CIRMA was able to get Simsbury a new environmental policy from ACE which has
· been retroactively dated to 2001. The new premium will save the town $17,953.
· It has retained the limits of Simsbury’s previous policy, but it also covers all the site-
· specific open space already owned by the town, and will cover any future open space
· the town may acquire. One underground storage tank (UST) which holds heating fuel
· has been added to the policy. (Tighter restrictions on UST have been issued at the state level recently).
Insurance Coverages Summary. Ms. Fitzsimons’ last report examined all the insurance coverages that CIRMA offers to Simsbury (the town and the BOE), broken down by line of business, limits
and sub-limits of coverage, deductibles and premiums.
3. Other Insurance Matters
Risk management issues.
· After the recent tree trimming incident, contracts with third party contractors were reviewed.
• Ms. Fitzsimons briefly discussed risk management for town-sponsored events. Simsbury’s Outdoor Performing Arts Center has insurance to cover the structure, liability (general and liquor), as well as event cancellation.
• At events where alcohol is being sold by the town, risk management can be tricky. She recommended that the committee discuss greater control of alcohol consumption during Simsbury’s Annual Septemberfest at the next meeting. Offering wristbands or having a policy that would require consumption only in the Beer Garden might reduce claims.
She also stressed that anyone who wishes to rent town-owned spaces must prove that they have a certificate of insurance for their event.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 a.m.
The next Insurance Committee meeting will be Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 7:30 a.m. in the Board of Education Conference Room.
Respectfully submitted,
Lorrie McElligott
Commission Clerk