Stewardship Reports

Stewardship Reports

Stewardship reports are used by many organizations to review the activities and performance of key partners, and develop plans to properly utilize these resources and special expertise to achieve the organization’s goals.

The Authority receives stewardship reports from its third party administrators for liability and workers’ compensation claims, and insurance brokers for coverage programs.

Carl Warren & Company: Liability Protection Program Third Party Administrator
Carl Warren & Company has served as the Authority’s third-party administrator since 1978, and is entering its 66th year of service. This last year saw positive changes in Carl Warren & Company’s operation, with an increased focus on leadership and management, and a continued commitment to individual customer service for our members. Dwight Kunz assumed the role of full-time Account Manager, and Chris Kustra and Sharon Huff joined George Mankiewicz and Richard Marque as supervisors dedicated to the Authority’s members. The year also brought advances in technology with the introduction of “the Cloud”, an Internet-based document repository. The Cloud has allowed our Liability Program Manager and Risk Consultants to go “paperless,” with access to all claim-related documents available electronically through the Cloud’s website.

York Insurance Services Group: Workers’ Compensation Program Third Party Administrator
York has been the third-party administrator for the Authority since 2001, and has proven itself to be a worthy partner, showing both competence and flexibility. York received a score of 96% on the annual audit conducted for the Authority, demonstrating substantial compliance with 55 “key performance indicators” deemed to be critical to the cost-effective resolution of claims. The Stewardship Report for 2009-10 highlighted various achievements, among them a 20.7% reduction in the length of time claims were open, which contributed to a 13% decrease in adjuster caseloads. The report also presented a forecast of challenges for the future, including a discussion on the impact of medical inflation, the significance of key court decisions, and the likely erosion of many of the 2004 reforms, all of which will lead to higher costs in the future.

Towers Watson: Liability and Workers’ Compensation Programs Insurance Brokers
The workers’ compensation program has a stable market with insurer Safety National, and the renewal proceeded as predicted under the previous two-year agreement providing rate reductions with no change in coverage terms.

Towers Watson faced a challenge with the Authority’s liability program and needed to resolve the instability at AIG, which provided excess coverage in the prior year. Towers had two primary objectives for the 2010-11 renewal. First was to rework the Authority’s coverage forms above the $10,000,000 layer to provide broader protection, which was achieved by bringing in four new carriers and increasing the reinsurance protection up to the $15,000,000 layer. The second was to diversify the excess insurance layers up to the Authority’s $50,000,000 coverage limit, and this effort is on-going both by strengthening relationships with existing carriers and by continuing to look for additional coverage.

Alliant Insurance Services: Property, Pollution, Crime, and Special Events Insurance Brokers
Alliant produced a successful renewal for 2010-11, and was able to reduce the rates on all lines. This was accomplished despite a significant amount of uncertainty created by an earthquake near the Mexican border just three days before renewal. This, coupled with economic factors, may lead insurers to increase rates in several programs for the 2011-12 renewals. Alliant will continue to provide members with additional services, such as property and boiler & machinery inspections, and also provide assistance pertaining to regulatory and pollution issues.