Liability: The Pool is not increasing the General Liability and Errors and Omissions Liability rates. However, the Pool will increase Law Enforcement and Auto Liability rates by 10 percent largely due to the increase in losses for these coverages. Members operating a gas utility will see a modest increase. Other adjustments related to liability experience modifiers could affect some Member’s contributions.
Cyber: The Pool has, until now, retained the cost of a base level of cyber coverage for any Member with Liability and/or Property coverage. Coverage is provided through a partnership with Beazley, and that agreement remains the “best in class” for public entities. For 2023-2024, the Pool is passing a de minimis increase along to Members and working to determine how to best structure coverage in future years. Most Members will see those coverage changes implemented October 1, 2023, and the Pool will provide a detailed explanation well in advance of that date.
Property: The Pool is increasing Property rates in several ways, which is necessary to ensure appropriate coverage. For most Members, property rates will increase six percent. In addition, an inflationary factor of 12 percent will be applied to all building values and eight percent will be applied to contents. (Many housing authorities, which have special exposures due to the residential nature of their property, will see larger increases.)
The increases are based on actuarial indications, property schedule values, and reinsurance modeling and price, and they are also based on continued increases in cost of materials, labor, and diesel fuel, as well as increase in demand with infrastructure investments and influx of residents to Texas.
Minimum Contributions: Some Members will see their contribution increase in an amount necessary to cover their administrative costs of membership. While the percentage increase may appear drastic, the actual dollar amount typically won’t.
The Pool’s Board of Trustees takes rate decisions very seriously. The Pool is governed largely by local government officials, and they understand the consequences of their actions on local budgets.
Unlike the commercial insurance industry, which uses profits to measure success, the Pool provides coverage, services, and risk management tools with the goals of saving lives, preventing injuries, protecting property and most importantly, stabilizing costs year-to-year for the Membership. Put simply, the Pool is Member-owned, Member-governed, and Member-driven. This Member-first risk management philosophy ensures that, over time, the Pool offers the best value proposition for cities and the taxpayers who support them.
Please contact your Risk Management Advisor (formerly Members Services Manager) with questions about coverage, rates, and contributions.
Board of Trustees Adopts Bylaws Changes
At its April 2023 meeting, the Board of Trustees adopted several changes to the Pool’s Bylaws, most of which are technical changes. The updated Bylaws are available on the Member Portal.
Legislative Update: TML Risk Pool Supports Injured Employees*
The TML Risk Pool takes every workers’ compensation claim seriously. That is especially true with major, life-altering injuries. While medical privacy laws forbid the Pool from commenting on specific cases, we can say we do everything in our power – within a highly-regulated system – to ensure that local government employees we cover have everything they need to live their best lives.
In fact, the Pool has supported legislation in recent sessions that would expand income benefits for many seriously injured workers. That’s particularly true in cases where an employee sustains a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Recent high-profile reports have shown that the existing, archaic statutory standards could serve as a barrier to recovery of lifetime income benefits for employees who suffer a TBI in the course and scope of employment.
This session, the Pool supported H.B. 2468 by Representative Dustin Burrows (R – Lubbock). The bill, which passed the House and Senate unanimously, modernizes the standards to provide lifetime income benefits to any employee who suffers a TBI that results in a permanent, major neurocognitive disorder “for which the employee requires occasional supervision in the performance of a routine daily tasks for self-care and that renders the employee permanently unemployable.”
Also, and specific to first responders, the bill provides lifetime income benefits to first responders who incur a serious bodily injury rendering the first responder permanently unemployable. The bill creates a process to ensure that benefits will be paid so long as the first responder continues to meet the criteria for eligibility.
The Pool worked closely with stakeholders and Representative Burrows’ office to ensure that first responders and other employees seriously injured in the line of duty receive the benefits they deserve.
House Bill 2468 applies to lifetime income benefit claims that are based on compensable injuries that occur on or after September 1, 2023.
*A more comprehensive review of Pool-related bills passed by the 88th Texas Legislature will appear in a future edition.
Staff Title Changes in Member Services and Loss Prevention
Recent Member input has shown that some didn’t clearly understand the role of the Pool’s two most outward facing departments – Loss Prevention and Member Services. To better reflect job duties – and to enhance Members’ understanding of staff roles – the Pool has made several title changes for key staff. Member Service Managers will assume the title of Risk Management Advisors. Loss Prevention Representatives will be renamed Safety and Loss Control Consultants, and the law enforcement, human resources, and public works training specialists will assume the title of Outreach Consultants. (Neither the Loss Prevention nor Member Services Departments themselves will be renamed.)
Risk Pool Welcomes New Board Trustees
A special Risk Pool welcome goes out to the newest members of the Board of Trustees, all of whom are municipal officials:
Place 1: Victor A. Flores, City Attorney of Mission
Place 12: Allison Heyward, Councilmember of Schertz
Place 14: Mike Land, City Manager of Coppell
TML Representative Ex-Officio: Holly Gray Moore, Mayor Pro Tem of Roanoke
Cities account for more than 77 percent of the Risk Pool’s total contributions and serve as the anchor of local service provision in Texas. Because of that, the Pool’s Bylaws provide that 75 percent of places on the Board of Trustees be occupied by employees or officials of municipalities.
This ensures that cities remain the focus of the Pool’s priorities, while still allowing non-city Member entities the opportunity to serve and provide diversity of thought as well.
Risk Management Minute: June Is Trench Safety Month
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 115 workers lost their lives in trench-related accidents from 2015-2021. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has a few tips to share with workers involved in excavation work. The Pool’s Loss Prevention Department has also prepared a trenching and excavation T.I.P.S. sheet.
Safety at Work: Texas Department of Insurance Compiles Links to Free Training Videos
The Texas Department of Insurance Workplace Safety Resource Center offers a listing of links to safety videos, hosted mainly on YouTube, by various government, educational, and safety organizations (including the Risk Pool). Check out this valuable resource today!
