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CTSI review finds auto claims driving Clear Creek County liability costs; defensive-driving training recommended
Summary
Dana Foley of the County Technical Services, Inc. presented a five-year loss analysis to the Clear Creek County Board of Commissioners, highlighting auto-related claims and a large sheriff’s office shock loss. Foley recommended defensive-driving refreshers, incident-investigation training and targeted sheriff loss analysis.
Dana Foley, risk and loss control specialist for County Technical Services, Inc. (CTSI), briefed the Clear Creek County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 18 on the county’s five-year liability and property (CAPP) loss analysis and pool performance.
Foley told commissioners CTSI operates as a member-owned pool for Colorado counties and that Clear Creek received distributions and interest returns in 2024: $127,859 from the workers’ compensation pool, $8,744 from the CAP pool and about $22,229 in interest, for a combined return of $158,832. Foley said the pool returned roughly $4 million from workers’ comp and $500,000 from CAP to member counties last year.
The five-year snapshot (Jan. 1, 2020–Dec. 30, 2024) the CTSI report produced showed 71 claims totaling $10,874,407; one single claim accounted for roughly $10,000,000 of that amount. Foley said auto liability remains the county’s most frequent exposure, with backing (reverse-gear) incidents a recurring problem. She noted the county ran a defensive-driving class in fall 2023 and recommended repeating that training for county staff, including sessions that count toward deputy post certification.
Foley recommended three near-term steps: repeat defensive-driving training for county drivers and road-and-bridge staff; offer incident and accident investigation training for supervisors so root causes are documented and addressed; and produce a sheriff-specific loss analysis comparing Clear Creek’s sheriff’s-office claims to peer sheriff offices in the CTSI pool. Commission discussion focused on whether past shock losses in 2021 and 2022 would continue to affect premiums; Foley said the pool uses a three-year snapshot for premium-setting and that, as older years drop off, premiums should fall if current trends hold.
Commissioners asked about examples of ‘administration’ losses; Foley pointed to a vandalism claim and said property, building and grounds losses are reported in that line. She also outlined federal changes that could affect county operations—silica-monitoring standards for pits and an updated drug-and-alcohol clearinghouse requirement for CDL operators—and offered CTSI assistance with supervisor training and jail-walkthrough risk reviews.
The county and CTSI agreed to follow up with (1) scheduling defensive-driving and incident-investigation training, (2) producing a sheriff-specific loss report, and (3) arranging CTSI participation in the county’s annual jail walkthrough if the commissioners want CTSI’s risk-control perspective.
Foley closed by encouraging staff to consult CTSI before opening new shops or facilities so risk notes can be recorded.
Ending: Commissioners thanked Foley for the briefing and asked staff to coordinate training and the sheriff loss analysis. A follow-up training and the sheriff-specific report were left as next steps.
