Risk Management

This unit has the responsibility to recognize, identify and control the exposures to loss or injury, which arise out of the activities of the County of Burlington and its related agencies and commissions, and manage the claims that may result from those activities.

In order to meet this responsibility, the office of Insurance & Risk Management recommends to the Commissioners those risks that are to be insured or assumed, determines the type of insurance and limits to purchase in order to protect the assets and resources of the County. The Office also coordinates those efforts with various County Departments including, but not limited to, Finance, HR and Legal, as well as outside claims administrators, actuaries, auditors, insurance funds and insurance companies.

To further enhance and maximize the purchasing power and efficiencies that can be realized through “shared services” with other peer governmental entities, an Insurance Commission known as the Burlington County Insurance Commission (BCIC) has been established that is managed by this office for the benefit of not only the County of Burlington, but the Burlington County Bridge Commission and Board of Social Services.

The BCIC represents a complete overhaul of how NJ Counties and affiliated entities procure insurance. Funds are pooled for the “expected” claims that arise out of BCIC member operations and can be paid out of pocket as determined by an Actuary. For those larger, or catastrophic, claims that may occur, the BCIC has joined forces with 9 other NJ Counties to pool our resources for the purchase of stop loss insurance protection through a fund known as the NJ Counties Joint Insurance Fund, thereby creating a combination of pooled risk and group purchased insurance protection.

A final benefit to the “shared services” approach to funding our insurance needs is to spread out the cost of employee training and loss control services over a much larger employee base so that our combined work force can employ “best practices” on the job, in a safe work environment, all at a savings to the tax payer.