Bethel Gets Windfall from Insurance Company

BETHEL, CT —The town has been awarded $72,933 from its insurance company, along with a reduction on one of its premiums.

The sum comes in the form of an equity distribution from the Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency (CIRMA), which carries Bethel's property, liability and workers compensation insurance.

CIRMA is part of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, a member-owned non-profit insurance cooperative that provides key insurance products to member municipalities. Annual equity distributions to CIRMA member towns are based on cost control and investment performance. To date, the town of Bethel and the Bethel Board of Education have received over $282,000 in member equity distributions since the program began in 2011, according to a release.

In addition to the equity distribution, the Bethel also earned a 5 percent reduction on its worker’s compensation premium for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which equates to a cost reduction of about $45,800 in the current town budget, according to Bethel’s First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker. He credited the drop in insurance premiums as a result of the town’s newly formed Risk Management Program, begun in 2018. As part of the program, all workers who work out of doors and with heavy equipment participate in regular safety instruction seminars as well as observation and analysis of work practices by CIRMA ergonomics experts.

"Our department heads take an active role in safety training and fine tuning work practices to ensure the safety of our employees. This is good for them, obviously, and it is also good for taxpayers by reducing medical costs and lost work days due to on-the-job injuries," Knickerbocker said in a release.