To CAPF Participants:

On behalf of the CAPF executive board, I am pleased to provide you with an update on the state of our LTD plan and to tell you that our plan continues to be financially strong and the overwhelming choice among professional firefighters in California for long-term disability coverage.

Recently, our competitors have made major changes to the structure of their LTD plans. CPF announced last month that its plan is limiting its self-funded coverage of disability benefits to two years, after which claims will be underwritten and managed by a stockholder owned, for-profit insurance company. The CSFA LTD plan, meanwhile, is now fully operated and administered by an insurance company from day one and they recently announced a 10% rate increase and some reductions of benefits.

CAPF, unlike our competitors, remains a fully self-funded, member-owned plan with a sustainable reserve that now exceeds $6.1 million. Three out of four firefighters with LTD coverage in California are CAPF plan members; our list of participants includes 153 union and association groups and a growing number of Cal Fire members. In total, our plan serves over 18,000 professional firefighters throughout California.

The reason for our continued success is simple: For nearly 30 years, we have provided significantly better benefits than our competitors for a lower monthly cost. Our competitors' plans do not provide lifetime coverage or 80% of wages of disability benefits, as we do, and they (CSFA) includes limitations such as 24 months for musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders, which comprise almost two-thirds of all claims. From the start, our primary goal has been to provide unparalleled value to firefighters in California and it is clear we are continuing to successfully fulfill that mission.

Our financial strength is bolstered by our success recovering claim dollars from employers who have initially denied Workers' Compensation benefits to our members. In 2013, we recovered an average of almost $45,000 per month and we are aggressively pursuing an additional $2.6 million in outstanding recoverable claims. Through this process, we ensure our members' financial needs are covered even when employers initially reject their claims. In over 80% of cases, however, we are successful in helping to prove the employer's responsibility for coverage and receive reimbursement for benefit payments provided to our members. To the best of our knowledge, neither of our competing plans has ever achieved this level of success in recoveries.

Since our inception in 1985, CAPF has paid over $53 million in claims to its members and their families. We are proud that our claims decisions are made by a committee of firefighters, not insurance company employees who may not put your best interests first. A growing number of our members are celebrating relationships of 15, 20, or 25 years (or more) with CAPF, and we are committed to providing continued value as a self-insured plan managed by firefighters for firefighters.

Thank you for your continued support of CAPF and I invite you to contact me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Gene Dangel, President

Alameda County Firefighters Annual Pancake Breakfast

Date: March 15, 2014

Time: 7 to 10 AM

Location: Fire Station #16, 7494 Donahue Drive, Dublin

Tickets: $5 per person. Available at door.

Children's Scholarship Program Application Deadline 

Date: April 1, 2014 

More Information: www.CAPF.org/scholarship.html    

CAPF Board of Directors Meeting 

Date: April 4, 2014 

Location: San Diego 

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