Insurance customers often "shop around" for the best price, but for Truro Township, shopping around could be as close as their own backyard with the same company serving the township for many years.
Truro is covered by the Ohio Township Association Risk Management Authority (OTARMA) and administered by the Burnham and Flowers Insurance Group. The authority was established in 1987 by local governments participating in a cost-sharing pool providing Ohio townships an alternative to traditional insurance.
According to OTARMA, historically, the property and casualty insurance industry has been unable to provide the consistency of pricing and coverage needed by townships and other public entities. The national insurance crisis of the late 1980s, in which public entities were unable to purchase insurance at any cost, initiated the formation of group self-insurance pools in which members agreed to share the cost of their claims and related expenses. The transition from insurance to pooling has been so successful that there are more than 400 public entity pools currently operating in the United States of America.
During the March 6 Truro Township trustee meeting, Ed Barber, a Burnham and Flowers representative, said there are many advantages in Truro maintaining its relationship with OTARMA including a no liability limit, $25,000 in coverage for lawsuits with no claimed damages, punitive damage coverage, and guaranteed replacement for emergency vehicles.
"There is pollution coverage up to $500,000 and $25,000 for computer virus coverage. It’s something that can affect computers very quickly," said Barber. "Over the past 10 years, with all of the exposure increases since 1998, pricing has been pretty stable over the years. We now have over 950 townships in the program. It’s been profitable and the credit guarantee is a way of giving back to our members. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a credit guarantee for more than a year. This was a guarantee for three years. You’ve been with us for a very long time. The service has been excellent.
The program has progressed."
Although the township has experienced exposure increases throughout its association with OTARMA by adding vehicles and a new fire station on Livingston Avenue, it has not had a rate increase in 21 years.
Other Truro news
•Battalion Chief Steve Hein told trustees the fire department started an in-house safety committee to investigate accidents happening within the department.
"We want to identify unsafe things around the firehouse," said Hein. "It’s just another set of eyes for us."
•Road Superintendent Stan Knoderer reported 18.2 tons of salt was applied to township roads during February, which exceeded the amount used since winter began by almost seven tons.
•Two properties in the Qualstan subdivision were referred to the Franklin County Board of Health for violations including refuse, trash littering the yard, and/or doors stacked along the house. One property was reported to the Franklin County Zoning Board for curbside parking of a semi-tractor.
Knoderer said he did not get any support from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department when he asked for assistance in dealing with the tractor parking, but the problem was readily resolved after he talked with the Franklin County Zoning Board.
"I met with Joe Baily, Franklin County Zoning Enforcement Officer, on Feb. 26 for the purpose of networking and gaining a better understanding of how the zoning department works," said Knoderer, "and how it can help the township resolve zoning violations. Within five days after contacting the property owner and tenant, the situation was corrected. With zoning board intervention, they’re not as lenient as the Board of Health. They send out one letter. Then (if necessary) a second letter tells the violator a court date will be set within five days if the problem is not corrected."
