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Specialty Lines
The March 24, 1986 cover of Time magazine showed a flagpole next to a building being hit by lightning, and stated: "Sorry, America, Your Insurance Has Been Cancelled." Inside the article continued, "those dread words echo with numbing frequency in an America well on the way to insuring itself to a silly, shuddering halt" and provided this example: "Will County, Ill., last week closed its forest preserves until it can get a new liability policy on them--if that can be done at all--and Blue Lake, Calif. (pop. 1,200), has shut its skating rink, parks and tennis court."
In the midst of the mess of traditional insurance companies abandoning public entity risks, an entire new industry was born - public entity risk pooling. CCAP's members asked for help, and what followed were solutions with what are now familiar names: PCoRP, PComp, PELICAN, the CCAP Health Alliance.
There is now a robust national association for public entity pools - AGRiP - the Association of Governmental Risk Pools. Three annual conferences provide training for governing boards and pool staff. Nationally, about 85% of all public entities (including schools) insure at least one line of coverage through a public entity pool. There are even reinsurers created and owned by the pools to provide catastrophic coverage.
Sometimes you just have to take matters in your own hands and create the solution. CCAP was fortunate to have members who were willing to trust in this new concept, and also make sure it was successful by devoting time and energy to serving on the governance boards for the new programs.
The Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool has become the largest of CCAP's public entity risk pools, insuring 51 counties and four county-related entities. It started operations on April 1, 1987 with twelve committed members - and all are still members 30 years later!
PCoRP will celebrate its 30th Anniversary at the CCAP Fall Conference, on Monday night November 20. Watch for the registration for the event in the September issue of Insurance Matters.
Make sure you contact us when you need help with something,
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Criminal History Information Lawsuit Has Implications for All Counties
CCAP sent a memo to all counties on July 19 regarding the Taha Decision - Taha v. County of Bucks, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 12053, *4 (3d Cir. July 6, 2017). As noted in the memo, at the time of the suit, Bucks County's inmate lookup tool contained information about "tens of thousands of people who had been held or incarcerated at the Bucks County Correctional Facility since 1938." Information available on the tool about Taha included a photograph from the shoulders up, name, sex, date of birth, height, weight, race, hair color, eye color, citizenship, date of commitment to the facility, date of release, case number for the offense charged, charge information, and current location within the facility. Additional fields were also visible for other inmates, including marital status, FBI number, state ID, alias information, detainer information, and the grade, date and degree of the offense in question.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the county's inmate lookup tool violates the Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA).
Although not every county publishes the same information on their inmate tools, any decision in the underlying Bucks County case regarding a tool's violation of CHRIA potentially has applicability to Counties across the Commonwealth. Among other things, the court held that counties could be subject to punitive damages for CHRIA violations. Most law enforcement liability policies, including PCoRP's, do not provide coverage for punitive damages.
Counties should seriously consider this matter, and manage risk appropriately. It is not our intent to recommend the discontinuation of the lookup tool at this time, but rather to ensure that appropriate personnel within each county - commissioners, administrators, chief clerks, solicitors, wardens, risk managers, etc. - are aware of and affirmatively evaluating the risks associated with these tools during the course of the Bucks County litigation.
To see the entire memo sent to all counties, click here.
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County Spotlight
Clearfield County
The Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool recognized four employees of Clearfield County who put out a rooftop electrical fire on Election Day at the Clearfield County Courthouse Annex building.
From left, front row: Clearfield Commissioners Antonio Scotto, John Sobel and Mark McCracken, John Sallade, Managing Director, Insurance Programs, CCAP.
Back row: Adam Curry, Director of Information Technology, maintenance employees Jim Luce and Barry Angstat, Rick Redden, Director of Domestic Relations, Deputy Sheriff Mark Coudriet, Chief George Proud and Assistant Chief John Williams of the Clearfield Borough Fire Department.
To read the full article, click here.
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Hot Topics
Waivers of Subrogation
Another exciting topic about contracts (sorry!). We are once again seeing contracts being presented to the county where the contractor is seeking a waiver of subrogation as part of the contract. This essentially means that if the contractor makes a mistake, and that mistake results in a loss or claim against the county, the county agrees to be responsible for it. For example, if the contractor installs a new electric junction box, and does it incorrectly, which leads to a fire, the county would not be able to try to collect some or all of the costs of the fire loss from the contractor.
The PCoRP Coverage Document contains a provision which is intended to discourage counties from accepting waiver of subrogation clauses. It is also intended to protect the pool from the added costs the clauses can create. Here's the relevant part of this exciting language:
If a member waives subrogation in a written contract or agreement, such waiver will not invalidate this Coverage Document. However, the member's deductible for any claim where subrogation has been waived shall be $100,000 for the applicable Coverage Section on the date of the occurrence. This deductible condition will not apply if the PCoRP Board of Directors approves the inclusion of a Waiver of Subrogation, prior to a claim occurring, in a contract where the subrogation waiver cannot be negotiated out of the contract.
This is a recent change (the deductible used to be much higher) and we added wording so the PCoRP Board could review situations where the member tried to negotiate this out of a contract unsuccessfully. Should the county then decide to assume the risk of the contract, and lets PCoRP know this in advance of a claim, the PCoRP Board will review the request and the increased deductible may be waived.
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Fall 2017 Workshops
September will be the official start of the fall GLIMPSE - Risk Management Training season! We have a great training season lined up! Topics include defensive driving, best practices for job descriptions, workplace culture, avoiding employment related lawsuits and the always popular Excellent Supervisor Seminars and Prison Personnel Workshop.
Online registration for the fall workshop is now available! You should soon be receiving your copy of the GLIMPSE training catalog. Please refer to the
GLIMPSE Online section of the CCAP website for all the information on topic descriptions, dates, times and locations.
As a reminder, most of the workshops are FREE to attend if your county is a member of the sponsoring CCAP insurance programs. To see your county's membership, please refer to the
CCAP Insurance Programs Member Listing.
The CCAP's insurance programs continue to collaborate with the CCAP
Academy for Excellence in County Government. Please refer to our website for additional information on co-sponsored events. These workshops are FREE to current Academy participants.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact
Linda Rosito at (800) 895-9039 x 3328.
Here is a quick look at the upcoming fall workshop season. Mark your calendars!
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Save Your County Money with U.S. Communities' New NARCAN Supplier!
U.S. Communities is the leading nationwide purchasing cooperative founded by public agencies for public agencies. Today, counties are challenged with limited resources and tight budgets for clinical needs. Premier, a U.S. Communities supplier, designed a comprehensive program to provide counties with access to a wide-range of medical supplies at a discounted price. NarcanĀ®, a newly-approved treatment to help reverse an opioid overdose, is just one of the medications available through Premier. Learn more about Premier's NarcanĀ® program.
Opioid abuse in the United States has reached epidemic proportions, with deaths due to opioid overdose killing Americans every day. There is a broad consensus that increased access to naloxone is a critical component of the emergency treatment of opioid overdose.
NARCAN Nasal Spray is the first and only FDA-approved naloxone nasal spray. This medicaion is used along with emergency medical treatment to reverse the life-threatening effects of opioid overdose. NARCAN requires no assembly or priming prior to use.
Public Interest Pricing is available to U.S. Communities participating agencies. This discounted program is an effort to provide affortable access to NARCAN for entities that serve the public interest with limited funding.
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The 2017 CCAP Salary Survey
We are pleased to report the 2017 CCAP Salary Survey was completed early this year! While our typical release is in August, we have worked diligently to get this data to you as soon as possible. The 2017 CCAP Salary Survey provides salary information for almost 15,000 county positions from 50 Pennsylvania counties and county related entities!
If you are already registered for access to the CCAP Salary Survey, your current username and password will continue to give you access to both the Position Details and Summary Details. If you need to register for access to the CCAP Salary Survey, please visit the CCAP website, at www.pacounties.org, click on the "Media" tab at the top of the page, scroll to the bottom of the page under "Demographics and Statistics" and click on the Salary Survey link. From there, under "Essential Links" you can register for access and view a webinar on navigating the survey.
Should you have any questions regarding this process or the survey, in general, please feel free to contact Desiree Nguyen.
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CCAP Cyber Security Forum, October 2
PCoRP Members Receive Free Registration!
CCAP is holding its second annual Cyber Security Forum on Monday, October 2. The mission of the Forum is to raise awareness, educate and engage key county stakeholders in short and long-term strategies for cyber prevention.
The Forum will be held on Monday, October 2 at the CCAP Office in Harrisburg. Registration is $50 per person, but officials and employees of the 51 PCoRP member counties receive free registration due to PCoRP's sponsorship of the Forum.
This year's Keynote Speaker is Morgan Wright, an internationally recognized expert on cybersecurity strategy, cyber terrorism, identity theft and privacy. His landmark testimony before Congress on Healthcare.gov changed how the government collected personally identifiable information. He has made hundreds of appearances on national news, radio, print and web, and has spoken to audiences around the world. Morgan is a highly decorated former state trooper, police officer and detective.
Other topics and speakers include Erik Avakian, CIO for the Commonwealth of PA, Cyber Case Studies, a PhishMe Update, and Security and Elections. An exhibit hall and time for networking with vendors will also be available.
Click here
to access the website for the Forum, with more details and to register.
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New Associate Members
Combining the strengths of two proven institutional asset management firms, EmStone Advisers is a Pennsylvania-based, entrepreneurially driven investment management firm committed to developing new strategies to meet needs in a rapidly changing and evolving investment marketplace. Our core value is that portfolio construction should be based on solutions to the client's needs and obligations and we are proud to serve public pension clients throughout Pennsylvania.
The Keystone Purchasing Network (KPN) is a national cooperative purchasing program that offers pre-bid contracts for roofing, construction, athletic surfaces, custodial supplies, furniture, office supplies, copiers/printers, modular buildings, LED lighting and athletic field/court lighting and many other cost saving contracts. Visit us at www.theKPN.org or call (888) 490-3182 for more information.
* Marsh & McLennan Agency / Trion Group
www.trion.com
Employee Benefits, Insurance
Marsh & McLennan has changed the way employers buy and manage employee benefits, helping companies reduce costs and maximize the value of their healthcare, prescription drug, life, disability, and voluntary programs. Through a unique fusion of consultative expertise, brokerage purchasing power, administrative support, and Internet technology, Marsh & McLennan develops innovative benefit solutions for local, regional, and Fortune 1000 companies. We also have a dedicated public sector practice.
Motorola Solutions connects people through technology. Businesses and government agencies around the world turn to Motorola Solutions innovations when they want highly connected teams that have the information they need throughout their workdays and in the moments that matter most to them.
You can find Motorola Solutions products and services in a wide range of workplaces. From the retail floor to the warehouse floor, and from the small town police station to the most secure government offices, our products support customers who make up the diverse global economy. We are proud that our products support mobile transactions of all kinds, as well as the safety and security of citizens everywhere.
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Watch Your Step - Distracted Walking and Talking
By: Maureen McMahon, Senior Risk Control Specialist
We have all seen the videos of distracted walking. The number of injuries caused by distracted walking has increased so much that the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons released a public service announcement called "Digital Deadwalkers."
To be safe and alert when walking, the Academy has these six safety tips:
1. If you must use headphones or other electronic devices, maintain a volume where you can still hear the sounds of traffic and your surroundings.
2. If you need to talk to someone next to you, make a phone call, text or do anything that could distract you from getting where you need to go safely, stop and do so away from the pedestrian traffic flow.
3. While you walk, focus on the people, objects and obstacles around you.
4. Don't jaywalk. Cross streets carefully, preferably at a traffic light, remaining cognizant of the pedestrian traffic flow, and the vehicles and bikes in and near the road.
5. Look up, not down, especially when stepping off or onto curbs or in the middle of major intersections; and/or when walking on or approaching stairs or escalators.
6. Stay alert in parking lots, and on and near streets, especially during the winter months when it gets dark earlier and drivers aren't as likely to see you.
Keep your phone in your pocket or bag while walking and remember to Watch Your Step.
As a member of CCAP's insurance programs, we provide you with Watch Your Step posters at no additional cost. We invite you to join in this effort to prevent slips, trips and falls by using the Watch Your Step resources for awareness and training activities. Contact us at
insurance@pacounties.org for more information or to request additional posters.
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Staff Updates
CCAP is pleased to welcome Gina Mecca to our staff. Gina is a Claims Representative 2, a new position, and works on PCoRP claims. With the recent growth in the PCoRP program we have added to the claims staff. Gina comes to CCAP with four years of claims experience from Nationwide, and also has experience with medical case management and Department of Defense project management. She also worked as an intern and Corrections Officer for Lebanon County. She's a graduate of Penn State. Gina can be reached at
gmecca@pacounties.org
or direct dial (717) 736-4727.
Congratulations to Jewell Hartz, Underwriting Administrative Assistant who completed the training and is now a Notary Public! She joins Tona Faust, Insurance Programs Services Coordinator who is also a notary, and the two of them help us with the forms that still require notarization.
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Upcoming Events
CCAP Annual Conference and Tradeshow
August 6, 2017
Bayfront Convention Center, Erie
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Quote of the Month
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore "
- Andre Gide
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