• Risk consulting
• Insurance procurement above self-insured retention levels
• Maricopa County Self-Insured Trust Fund management and financing
• Administration and monitoring of third party administrators' adjusting
  of workers' compensation and unemployment claims
• Investigation and disposition of casualty and property claims and lawsuits
• Safety training, reporting, and compliance
• Loss control programs
• Environmental investigation, remediation, and reporting
• Contractual indemnification and insurance requirement language drafting and review

The Risk Management Department is divided into three operating divisions, Claims, Safety, and Environmental, and one Administration division. Highlights for each division are contained in this report. The Department strives to accomplish its mission with assistance and direction from the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, the Maricopa County Self-Insured Trust Fund Board of Trustees, and the Office of the County Attorney. The Risk Manager reports to the Chief Financial Officer of Maricopa County.

Maricopa County, Arizona Self-Insured Trust Fund

Arizona law (ARS § 11-981) authorizes Maricopa County to self-insure, procure insurance from any insurer authorized by the State of Arizona Department of Insurance, or both. Insurance (defined in Title 20 Arizona Revised Statutes) includes, but is not limited to, auto liability, auto physical damage, general liability, medical malpractice, property, workers' compensation, and unemployment insurance.

Upon establishment of a self-insurance program, Maricopa County is required to designate a Trust Administrator (Risk Manager), and establish a Trust. The Trust is funded by an allocation of funds from General Fund and Non-General Fund departments and Special Districts, or such other funding techniques permitted by state statute and authorized by the Trust's Board of Trustees.

A Board of Trustees manages and directs the Trust's activities and affairs. Trustees must be United States citizens and residents of Maricopa County, and are appointed by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) and County Manager.

Maricopa County enjoyed mixed results this fiscal year in the risk/exposure area. Total dollars paid plus open reserves were down 54.7% for this fiscal year compared to the prior fiscal year. However, the Cost of Risk increased. Risk Management's costs increased $6,379,633 (28.9%), due primarily to significant increases in claim payments and legal expenses, resulting in the Cost of Risk (Risk Management's costs compared to total County and MIHS expenditures) coming in at an unacceptable 1.22%. (Note that the number of claims filed this fiscal year increased nearly 60%, from 941 to 1505. Part of the reason for this increase is a large number of almost identical inmate claims seeking money damages due to their conditions of confinement. Handling these claims together with the more normal increase in claims due to the population and County services increases will account for some of the significant increases in Risk Management's costs.) The County realized $1,279,212 in net savings in FY05-06 through the use of in-network medical providers and a medical bill review service, and collected $2,043,727 through subrogation, restitution, and deductible recovery efforts (the Claims and Environmental divisions, and our Third Party Administrator for Workers' Compensation). These mixed results need to be viewed in light of the County's growth in the number of people served within the County and the noted increase in number of claims filed.

Maricopa County continues to be one of the fastest growing counties in the nation with a population over 3.8 million. It is the 4th most populous County in the United States, larger in population than 21 states, and larger geographically than 7 states. The County continued to enjoy a significant growth rate in population. Such size and growth, while economically positive, has resulted in the noted increase in the number of claims. Risk Management's emphasis on responsible claim handling and a strong proactive loss prevention and safety program is designed to keep this increase to a minimum.

The number of Maricopa County and MIHS employees varies from month to month. For FY04-05 and FY05-06, the numbers of actual positions were 16,502 and 16,607, respectively. (Note that we are using "actual positions" not "actual budgeted positions" as we have used in the past.) Workers' compensation claims for FY04-05 and FY05-06 were 1075 and 1074, respectively. This reflects an increase in the number of positions of 0.6% over the previous fiscal year, and a decrease in the number of workers' compensation claims of 0.09% over this period.

Maricopa County Risk Management
222 North Central Avenue, Suite 1110
Phoenix, Arizona 85004

Links to Other (Third Party) Sites Disclaimer:
Third Party linked sites are not under the control of Maricopa County and Maricopa County is not responsible for the content of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site. Maricopa County reserves the right to terminate any third party link or linking program at any time. Maricopa County does not endorse companies or products to which it links and reserves the right to note as such on its web pages. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to this Site, you do this entirely at your own risk.

Last updated: 20 May, 2008, mdb