Every three years we contract with Towers Watson for an independent claims audit of PCoRP and PComp. We also have reviews done periodically by our reinsurers. The Tower Watson independent report helps us meet the AGRiP Advisory Standards for pool operations, and also gives us and the pool boards of directors an overview of the quality of our claims work.

I've just sent the PCoRP Board a copy of the claims audit for PCoRP, and the results are very good. The auditors review overall quality of claim handling compared to our established standards and generally accepted industry best practices. They measure thoroughness of investigation and recovery pursuit, case reserving practices, follow-up and case control, litigation procedures and processes, action planning and claims diary utilization and settlements and vendor assignments. They meet with the claims staff and review a representative sample of claims - this year they reviewed 30 open claims (15 liability and 15 property) and 20 closed claims (10 of each).

We received solid scores - 84 percent for liability and 72 percent for property. The lower property score reflects less detailed documentation than normal. This is because we tend not to spend additional money on independent adjusters, especially if our members have established relationships with companies for property clean up and repairs. We tend to believe our members about property damage.

In separate performance categories we received ratings from 75 to 100 percent. We also received four good recommendations for areas of improvement.

These audits, plus the visits from our reinsurers, keep us focused on providing professional, high quality claims services to the members of our pools.

Make sure you contact us when you need help with something,

                              John Sallade

HOME FIRES

• In 2011, U.S. fire departments responded to 370,000 home structure fires. These fires caused 13,910 civilian injuries, 2,520 civilian deaths and $6.9 billion in direct damage.
• On average, seven people died in U.S. home fires per day from 2007 to 2011.
• Cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries, followed by heating
  equipment.
• Smoking is a leading cause of civilian home fire deaths.
• Most fatal fires kill one or two people. In 2012, eight home fires killed five or more people resulting in a total of 44 deaths.

SMOKE ALARMS

• Almost three out of five (60%) reported home fire deaths in 2007 to 2011 resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
• Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half.
• In fires considered large enough to activate the smoke alarm, hardwired alarms operated 93% of the time, while battery powered alarms operated only 79% of the time.
• When smoke alarms fail to operate, it is usually because batteries are missing, disconnected or dead.
• An ionization smoke alarm is generally more responsive to flaming fires and a photoelectric smoke alarm is generally more responsive to smoldering fires. For the best protection, or where extra time is needed, to awaken or assist others, both types of alarms, or combination ionization and photoelectric alarms are recommended.

ESCAPE PLANNING

• According to an NFPA survey, only one-third of Americans have both developed and practiced a home fire escape plan.
• Almost three-quarters of Americans do have an escape plan; however, more than half never practiced it.
• One-third (32%) of respondents who made an estimate thought they would have at least six minutes before a fire in their home would become life threatening. The time available is often less. Only 8% said their first thought on hearing a smoke alarm would be to get out!

COOKING

• U.S. Fire Departments responded to an estimated annual average of 156,600 cooking-related fires between 2007-2011, resulting in 400 civilian deaths, 5,080 civilian injuries and $853 million in direct damage.
• Two of every five home fires started in the kitchen.
• Unattended cooking was a factor in 34% of reported home cooking fires.
• Two-thirds of home cooking fires started with ignition of food or other cooking materials.
• Ranges accounted for the 57% of home cooking fire incidents. Ovens accounted for 16%.
• Children under five face a higher risk of non-fire burns associated with cooking and hot food and drinks than being burned in a cooking fire.
• Microwave ovens are one of the leading home products associated with scald burn injuries not related to fires. According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, two out of five of the microwave oven injuries seen at emergency rooms in 2011 were scald burns.
• Clothing was the item first ignited in less than one% of home cooking fires, but these incidents accounted for 15% of the cooking fire deaths.

HEATING

• The leading factor contributing to heating equipment fires was failure to clean, principally creosote from solid fueled heating equipment, primarily chimneys.
• Portable or fixed space heaters, including wood stoves, were involved in one-third (33%) of home heating fires and four out of five (81%) home heating deaths.
• Half of home heating fire deaths resulted from fires caused by heating equipment too close to things that can burn, such as upholstered furniture, clothing, mattresses or bedding.
• In most years, heating equipment is the second leading cause of home fires, fire deaths and fire injuries.
• Fixed or portable space heaters are involved in about four out of five heating fire deaths.

SMOKING MATERIALS

• During 2007-2011 smoking materials caused an estimated 17,900 home structure fires, resulting in 580 deaths, 1,280 injuries and $509 million in direct property damage, per year.
• Sleep was a factor in 31% of the home smoking material fire deaths.
• Possible alcohol impairment was a factor in one in five (18%) of home smoking fire deaths.
• In recent years, Canada and the United States have required that all cigarettes sold must be "fire safe," that is have reduced ignition strength and less likely to start fires.

ELECTRICAL

• About half (48%) of home electrical fires involved electrical distribution or lighting equipment. Other leading types of equipment were washer or dryer, fan, portable or stationary space heater, air conditioning equipment, water heater and range.
• Electrical failure or malfunctions caused an average of almost 48,000 home fires per year, resulting in roughly 450 deaths and nearly $1.5 billion in direct property damage.

CANDLES

• During 2007-2011 candles caused 3% of home fires, 4% of home fire deaths, 7% of home fire injuries and 6% of direct property damage from home fires.
• On average, there are 32 home candle fires reported per day.
• More than one-third of these fires (36%) started in the bedroom; however, the candle industry found that only 13% of candle users burn candles in the bedroom most often.
• Nearly three in five candle fires (56%) start when things that can burn are too close to the candle. 

Reproduced from NFPA's Fire Prevention Week website, www.firepreventionweek.org. ©2014 NFPA. 

For more information, contact the CCAP Loss Control Services at (800) 895-9039; or email us at:

Gary Nicholson, Loss Control Services Manager

Maureen McMahon, Loss Control Specialist

Andrew Smith, Loss Control Specialist

Dennis Cutler, Loss Control Specialist

Forest County is the fifth Pennsylvania County to join the CCAP Health Alliance, effective December 1, 2014. The county had considered joining the Health Alliance each year since the program's inception in 2013; however, until recently, the program's network in rural northwestern Pennsylvania was not up to par. That all changed when the program's network administrator, Aetna, acquired Health America. This collaboration, which was completed in July 2014, enhanced Aetna's provider network within all 67 counties.

The CCAP Health Alliance is not a commercial insurance product offered through Aetna. The Health Alliance is administered by the Delaware Valley Health Trust (DVHT), a health risk-sharing pool which started in 1999 and is now comprised of over 100 Pennsylvania public entities - townships, municipalities, authorities, school districts and counties. DVHT utilizes Aetna for network access and claims administration. This important distinction is what provides member entities ownership of the program and the ability to stabilize health insurance for their employees over time.

Health insurance costs are driven by two primary components: administrative expenses and the costs of care and treatment. DVHT's mission is to drive down administrative expenses as far as they can while incentivizing participants to actively manage their health. Currently, DVHT's administrative expenses are around 8.5% of every dollar spent for care and treatment. The commercial insurance market's administrative expenses are between 18 and 22%. Included in DVHT's 8.5% administrative expense load is a robust, cash-incentive based wellness program, which is available to all members of the Health Alliance. This program promotes proactive health management through diet and exercise, comprehensive physical exams and biometric testing.

In a recent success towards further reducing administrative expenses, DVHT received an exemption from the Health Insurance Fee (HIF) which took effect in 2014 as part of the Affordable Care Act. Exemption from this fee will save CCAP Health Alliance and DVHT members an estimated $2.8-$3.1 million in 2014. Some commercial carriers added 2.5 to 2.75% of premium for 2014 renewals to cover the HIF. The savings for CCAP Health Alliance and DVHT members is projected to increase to $4.9 million in 2015 as the HIF fee is increased to 4%.

For more information on the CCAP Health Alliance and its many benefits, please contact Julia Jackson, CCAP Health and Cooperative Programs Manager, at (800) 895-9039 x 3305. Or feel free to reach out to your contacts within any of the program's member counties: Clarion County, Columbia County, Elk County, Forest County and Tioga County.

The fall trainings are underway. Even though a month of the fall workshop season has already passed us by, we still have many great educational opportunities for you to take advantage of.

As a reminder, most of the workshops are FREE to attend if your county is a member of the sponsoring Insurance Programs. To check if your county is a member of the sponsoring program, please refer to the CCAP Insurance Programs Member Listing.