SDPAA – 2015 In Review By Judy Payne, Executive Director 2015 marked a watershed in the history of the South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance with the transition of administration and marketing in-house and the development of a Member Services Program. The purposes of these developments were to provide SDPAA Members with better coverages and better services while maintaining SDPAA’s history of stable, competitive rates. The major goal of the SDPAA in 2015 was a successful transition of these services; a transition as seamless as possible for our Members. By all accounts, we not only met our goal, we exceeded it. SDPAA Members have better coverage, a better understanding of their coverages and coverage needs, better services, and better communications than they have ever had. This has been a joint effort by the SDPAA Board of Directors, the SDPAA staff, the SDPAA service providers, the SDPAA Member Services Task Force, and all of the Member-Owners of the SDPAA. 2015 Highlights Include:
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by statute, the SDPAA began offering Crime Coverage which covers all employees and elected and appointed officials of local government entity Members. Members taking advantage of this coverage see significant reductions in cost while increasing and broadening coverage. Cyber Liability Coverage – At no expense to Members in 2015, the SDPAA provided limited Cyber Liability Coverage. In 2016, this limited coverage is built in to Members’ General Liability coverage and Members have an opportunity to purchase higher limits of the coverage.
Member Communications The SDPAA’s Member Services Department set a goal of meeting with every Member face-to-face during the year. While we had a few Members with whom we were unable to schedule visits, this goal was largely accomplished. These visits, during which all of the Member’s coverages and exposures were reviewed, have been very beneficial to Members and to the SDPAA. These reviews have revealed instances where coverage necessary was not in place or was inadequate, coverage which was unnecessary (i.e.
Rate Reductions 2015 began with the announcement of a reduction in rates for nearly all lines of coverage. The SDPAA Board’s decision to bring services in-house resulted in savings in the SDPAA’s operating budget and a healthy portion of those savings were passed on to SDPAA Members in the form of a total 4.71% rate reduction returning $440,000 to Members. New Coverages j Enhanced Crime Coverage – Recognizing Members’ needs for more crime coverage than is typically provided through Employee Dishonesty Bonds required
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SOUTH DAKOTA MUNICIPALITIES
