Government workers for Burlington County, New Jersey have saved a total of $500,000 this year on insurance premiums simply because fewer claims and lesser renegotiated costs with carriers. Lower premiums significantly account for the savings.
Stephen A. Paolucci, Burlington County’s insurance risk claims manager, updated state board of freeholders last week on savings made since January this year.
The savings were accumulated over a nine-month period, with worker’s compensation and general liability contributing significantly. Spending only a total of $1.76 million on New Jersey auto insurance payments, the county saved $243,469 on premium costs. County representatives explained that more responsible driving practice by county employees helped reduce the occurrence of accidents and has consequently pushed auto insurance rates down.
State regulators announced continuing efforts in negotiating with different insurers which likewise contributed to lower premium rates. Paolucci says they have constantly, lengthily, and successfully dealt with insurance providers in order to reduce costs. County regulators say interventions helped in stimulating competition among carriers, eventually leading to more competitive prices than were seen in the past few years. Burlington’s Division of Insurance and Risk Management takes care of such negotiations, he remarked.
County Administrator Augustus Mosca added that $307,546 came from savings on worker’s compensation and generally liability costs. The total breaks down into a monthly savings of about $34,171. As explained by Mosca, such reduction is substantial and is helpful to the county’s economy.
The Administrator attributed the half-million dollar savings to the county’s safety and health training initiative. This program train employees on how to properly fulfill their duties without jeopardizing their safety. Trainings were conducted periodically to reinforce guidelines given for general well-being of employees. Because of such emphasis on safety, injuries were minimized as well as the claims that were supposed to provide coverage. This year, Burlington only paid $2.27 million in claims as opposed to last year’s $2.58.
Paolucci announced that the county is planning to save more so administrators are cutting on local government spending. Among the measures to be taken would be the reduction of its fleet so administrators will provide budget only on vehicles necessary in serving Burlington. Last week, Paolucci announced elimination of 36 vehicles. He explained that this can significantly cut back government spending on auto insurance premiums. Since last year, a total of 113 vehicles were eliminated. Officials plan to ultimately reduce vehicles to 120. At present,
Burlington spends $3.4 million in repair costs, fuel, and auto insurance costs. Paolucci emphasized roles played by savings, saying they are critical in next year’s budget.
