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CTSI tells Lake County it can reduce claims exposure with driving rules, training and better investigations
Summary
CTSI’s loss-control specialist told commissioners Lake County’s liability is driven by legal-liability and auto claims, with workers’ comp elevated; recommendations included a no‑backing policy, defensive-driving training and stronger incident investigations.
Dana Foley, the county’s CTSI senior loss control representative, presented the pool’s five-year loss analysis and recommended practical steps Lake County can take to reduce both frequency and severity of claims.
Foley described CTSI as a county-owned cooperative pool that covers members’ auto, property, general liability, sheriff and workers’ compensation risks. She reported that the workers’ comp pool distributed $4.25 million to members last year and that Lake County received a $68,129 equity distribution in the most recent cycle.
On the liability side Foley said legal-liability claims and auto incidents are the pool’s two largest cost drivers; legal-liability matters take longer to resolve and often involve court and attorney expenses. She singled out backing-related vehicle incidents as frequent, low-speed losses that are amenable to policy changes and training: “thinking about having that county policy of of a no backing policy… that’s low‑hanging fruit because literally it’s paying attention, looking in the mirrors,” she said.
Foley also highlighted sheriff-related exposures. She said Senate Bill 217, which removed certain governmental immunities for law-enforcement actions, has increased liability risk statewide for sheriff offices and contributed to higher-severity claims in the pool.
On workers’ compensation Foley pointed to indemnity (lost-time) claims as the main driver of higher costs and urged stronger return-to-work programs and supervisory training to capture root causes and contributing factors in incident reports. She recommended an accident‑investigation training course for supervisors and offered CTSI assistance for major incidents and subrogation where third-party recovery is possible.
Foley noted several large outliers in recent years — including a multi-jurisdictional law-enforcement settlement in the pool’s past that reached the millions — and emphasized that county staff should focus on both low-cost preventive policies and improved investigations to keep future five‑year averages lower.
Commissioners asked for follow‑up information on specific claims and on whether the county was trending better in the current year; Foley said midyear reports would show whether corrective measures are having an effect.
No formal action was taken; commissioners directed staff to pursue the recommended training and policy conversations with CTSI.
