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                  Successes

Solving HR challenges — now!

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Copyright 2008-2009 HR-Triage
An Owner-Operated Professional Consulting Network
Rounded Rectangle: Successes

Jim Scanlon and the team at the
HR-Triage network’s insurance brokers Scanlon, Guerra, Burke have been instrumental in securing significant savings for one California school district’s insurance program, returning $300,000 to the schools 

 

Scanlon and the SGB team are still looking for savings to give back to California schools.  In a letter to the editor of a local newspaper Scanlon explains why finding insurance savings shouldn’t be so difficult. 

 

If you would like HR-Triage and SGB to find your insurance savings, please contact Doug Simons at SGB’s offices.

 

Consultant:         Douglas Simons

Direct Dial:         818-449-0287

E-Mail:   dsimons@sgbinsurance.com
Text Box: Better insurance deals for schools By Jim Scanlon Sunday, June 7, 2009 Within days, school will be out for summer and many teachers will be leaving the classroom unsure of whether they will return in the fall. Around Ventura County, nearly 1,000 “pink slips” have been sent to those working in education. Schools are trying to deal with a reduction of $15 billion in the overall state budget from a year ago — a figure that seems to rise by the day. Federal stimulus money is helping some school districts, but no matter how you shave the ice, some teaching jobs will be cut. In Ventura County, somewhere between 50 and 100 of those jobs could be saved if school districts did what every business is doing during these tough times — look for cost-savings from vendors. We have tried to be a part of the solution, but it seems like the school districts in the county do not want a solution. Any responsible business looks at cutting costs or raising prices before laying off staff. Schools are burdened with a load of mandates. And they have few options for raising money. They do not have much discretionary spending. But one area where they could save money is insurance — workers’ compensation insurance, property and liability insurance. The Santa Paula Elementary School District took this approach last year and saved $300,000 from the previous year. In a district of some 3,000 students, it saved $100 per student. What causes school districts to refuse to take a look at this alternative? Inertia. For nearly 20 years, most school districts have pooled their insurance money in a joint powers authority. They did so after a series of playground accidents caused some insurance carriers to revoke commercial insurance. Fair enough. But times have changed. Insurance companies have changed. The joint powers authority and insurance pool have not — except for raising premiums and creating a giant bureaucracy. And the JPA is not a savior. Part of the reason Santa Paula bolted was because the JPA refused to pay a legitimate claim. Insurance companies once again write coverage for playground accidents. We even have a trained playground safety inspector on our staff who will soon be certified to help schools protect their children from accidents. Our firm has appeared before five school boards asking them to do something that costs nothing. We have asked the school districts for the information and some time to write them a competitive proposal for insurance coverage. Understand this. It costs the districts nothing to do this. When we did this for Santa Paula, we found a way to get it more insurance coverage for less money. Many school districts will not even return our phone calls for follow-up. Some promise to provide information, but never come through. We are not in this just for more business for our company. We would hope all districts get quotes from us and from our competitors. That is the responsible thing to do for our children and for our teachers. — Jim Scanlon of Camarillo is chairman and chief executive officer of Scanlon, Guerra, Burke Insurance Brokers. He can be reached at JNScanlon@sgbinsurance.com. © 2009 Ventura County Star