CTSI: San Juan County five-year loss experience low; recommends fleet and workplace safety measures

Marilyn Wagner of CTSI (County Technical Services, Inc.) told the San Juan County Board of Commissioners during a board meeting that the county’s five-year loss experience is low and that the county’s upcoming insurance contributions were modest after returns to membership.

Wagner, a loss-control representative with CTSI, said the county’s coverage in the Colorado Casualty Property (CAP) pool had an equity maintained at about $14,200,000 and that the pool returned $500,000 in equity and $975,000 in interest to members this year. She said San Juan County’s base CAP contribution was “a little over $237,000,” which, after a loss-factor credit and interest/equity returns, resulted in a net contribution for the county “this year [of] a 176,000.”

Wagner described how CAP contributions are modified: “You start at a base ... but that’s modified, first of all, by a loss factor,” she said, adding that the county’s current CAP loss factor was 0.775, which produces a credit off the base rate. She emphasized that the loss factor calculation is capped at both high and low ends to limit year-to-year swings and that CTSI issues 6-month and annual loss analyses to members.

On workers’ compensation, Wagner said the pool’s equity was about $26,900,000 and that membership equity returns totaled roughly $4,000,000 this year. She reported San Juan County’s workers’ compensation base began at “a little over 40,000,” which was adjusted by the county’s current workers’ comp loss factor of 1.07, producing a net contribution of “a little over 31,000” for the county. Wagner said the county’s workers’ compensation coverage included employees, statutory volunteers and appointed board members and that the county currently had 117 covered individuals.

Wagner broke that 117 down when asked: “We’ve got 41 employees, 61 statutory volunteers ... and then 15 appointed board members,” she said, noting the data were collected in April. She recommended confirming and updating the county’s covered roster so inactive volunteers could be removed from the rolls.

Wagner stressed that vehicle-related claims are the largest share of CAP experience across pool members and urged fleet-safety controls: training, motor-vehicle-record checks for new drivers and supervisory observation. “About 50% of the CAP claims ... those claims are related back to the operation of a vehicle,” she said.

On the workers’ compensation side, Wagner said the county experienced 11 workers’ comp claims in the period reviewed, with “10 out of 11” tied to musculoskeletal injuries such as slips, falls, lifting or body mechanics issues. She said slips/falls, body mechanics and lifting accounted for roughly 36% of claim frequency and 48% of dollars spent across the pool and recommended job-task breakdowns, mechanical assistance and targeted retraining to reduce exposure and costs.

Wagner offered CTSI’s support for training, building audits and on-site job analyses and said counties can find technical updates and training on the CTSI website. She also said CTSI can adjust claim categorizations on request (noting one claim initially listed under administration could be moved to public safety/fire if the county requests it).

Board members asked clarifying questions about the volunteer count and the potential to remove inactive volunteers from insurance rolls; a commissioner suggested a reminder to entities that maintain volunteer lists so those rolls are current. Wagner also told the board that CTSI had hired a replacement staff member who could not start until October and that she was filling in until that person began.

The presentation did not include a formal board vote; Wagner’s figures and recommendations were presented for the commissioners’ information.