Dean Shady, safety and risk improvement manager with the Iowa Municipalities Workers' Compensation Association, told the Marshall County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 31 that a recent, "very substantial" workers' compensation claim has pushed the county's loss ratio well above 100%.

Shady said the loss ratio is "around, I think it's a dollar 87. So a 187%." He said that outcome typically causes the county to lose experience-based discounts and could raise the county's workers' compensation premium by about $50,000 for the next fiscal year unless some credits can be reclaimed through underwriting negotiation.

The recommendation Shady brought to the board was threefold: adopt a cost-of-risk allocation so departments that generate losses bear those costs; "turbocharge" the incident-review process, training department heads on deep incident analysis; and expand training and online learning across departments. "We're gonna need the safety committee to take a dramatic jump in what they are doing," Shady said, adding he would assist with training and incident reviews.

Shady also urged targeted case management for employees with multiple claims, proposing "personal safety action plans" to identify why repeat injuries occur and whether they are preventable. He framed the measures as fiscally and operationally practical: lower premiums free county funds for other uses, reduce lost labor and keep employees safer.

Board members pressed for concrete next steps. Shady said the safety committee meets monthly and committed to attend at least four meetings per year to help accelerate changes. He also recommended an employee safety survey to gauge safety culture and identify problem areas; he said he had provided a 10-question example to staff.

Board members emphasized the need for proactive enforcement and cultural change, noting some departments carry higher risk (for example, sheriff's operations). One board member described past experience where a high mod factor cost the county significant premium dollars and urged progressive discipline and clearer department-head accountability for routine safety rules such as seat-belt use.

Shady noted there are "discretionary credits" under IMWCA that an underwriter might restore if the county shows committed improvements and said he and staff could negotiate with the carrier on that basis. The board expressed support for the plan and for staff working with IMWCA to implement training and improved incident review.

The board did not vote on an immediate policy change at the Dec. 31 meeting; Shady's presentation concluded with a request for the county to adopt the suggested practices and for department heads to participate in the accelerated safety work.

The next procedural step discussed was increased safety-committee engagement, follow-up incident reviews, and pursuing underwriting negotiations to recover discretionary credits.