County Commission | The Magazine October 2018 | Page 13

FROM THE COVER
About CRS Inc.
Earlier this year, the Board
members of the county insurance
pools elected to establish a new
nonprofit organization, County
Risk Services Inc. (CRS), to carry
out administrative functions. CRS
is governed by a five-member board
appointed by the insurance pools,
and the board is chaired by Ricky
Harcrow, chairman of the DeKalb
County Commission and an ACCA
past president. Daily operations will
be overseen by Henry van Arcken,
ACCA’s director of insurance services.
County leaders will find
more familiar faces on the CRS
team. A total of 13 employees of
Meadowbrook Insurance Group,
which has most recently handled
county insurance operations, will
make the transition, including:
• Mark Macon, liability/property
director;
• Connie Wilson, workers’
compensation claims director;
• Eddie Ousley, safety director.
Specifically, CRS will
provide enhanced services in
the following areas: claims
administration, underwriting,
policy administration, member
participation, accounting, member
services and safety programs.
“The self-funded insurance
programs are run by counties, and
they have always sought to provide
custom-tailored coverage,” Harcrow
said. “CRS will have no other
clients, so every professional on the
team will be 100 percent focused on
the needs of counties.”
Great expectations
Counties can look forward
to numerous benefits as self-
administration is fully implemented,
benefits that should lead to increased
county savings. A member portal is
projected to be operational in 2019,
providing digital reporting and real-
time review of claims. Safety efforts
will be more customizable, and
data-driven decisions should
improve service.
The time is now
Alabama counties formed
their first self-insurance pool more
than 40 years ago out of necessity.
In 1976, the driving force was
dramatic price increases in the
commercial market for workers’
compensation policies.
Today, the changing landscape of
the commercial insurance market was
again a factor in the switch to self-
administration, but the remarkable
growth of county programs is the
most significant contributor.
More than 60 of the 67
counties — and dozens of county-
related entities — participate in
one or more insurance program(s).
Workers’ compensation has been
available for the longest, followed by
liability coverage and, more recently,
property coverage.
Participation is at an all-time
high, and enhancing safety will be a
continued emphasis.
“If you want a real-world
instance of counties coming together
to solve a collective problem, you
would be hard-pressed to find a
better example than the self-funded
insurance programs,” Brasfield said.
“They have been a mainstay for
decades, and we are well on our way
to providing even better services for
decades to come.” n
ACCA’s 90 th Convention & Celebration
was one for the record books as
county leaders considered
“Where we’ve been, where we are
and where we’re going.”
This issue of County Commission Magazine
will give extra attention to the future of county
government and this Association.
Many presentations and handouts are available online:
www.alabamacounties.org/convention2018
COUNTY COMMISSION | 13