The Joint Committees on Finance and Pensions and Retirement met this morning for an update on BRIM. BRIM was established in 1957 to provide insurance services to state agencies. In 1982, it was mandated that county boards of education provide general liability coverage. Eventually, it began providing insurance to non-state entities, such as county commissions, cities and towns, transit and housing authorities, and VFD.
BRIM does have a five-member oversight board. There are five departments within BRIM:
• Claims, which handles claims, works to minimize claims; no claim is settled unless BRIM approves it
• Underwriting, which is focused on premium rating and coverage opinions
• Loss control, which provides education and outreach services
• Finance, which makes financial decisions, handles investments, accounting, HR, and office management
• Privacy office, which is a growing department due to growing risk, helps insured entities with cyber privacy and control
BRIM is fiscally prudent and efficient. Six of the coverages offered were tailored for WV agencies:
• General liability
• Personal injury
• Professional liability
• Stopgap liability
• Wrongful act liability
• Auto liability
Risk management services are provided to prevent or minimize claims through various programs, including:
• Lost control of consultation visits
• Property and casualty insurance loss prevention inspections
• Boiler, machinery, and AC insurance and inspection services
• Standards of participation in programs
• Loss control education and outreach services
Adverse claims included sexual and physical abuse, specifically in K-12, and excessive force by law enforcement. Behavioral Risk Management is difficult to manage because you cannot predict human behavior. Changes have been made to non-state programs regarding the adverse claims, including a $3 million aggregate per entity for sexual abuse and an expansion of the definition of abuse. Financial Changes include nominal value rating and increased claim deductible for auto, nonstate, and property.
The committees also heard an update on State Pension Plans. PERS is funded at 100 percent. TERS is funded 82 percent. Many other plans are funded at 100 percent. WV Consolidated Public Retirement Board manages 10 plans, which is more retirement plans than any other state under one board. West Virginia Retirement plans are some of the best-funded plans in the country.
