By Chad Engle, Loss Prevention and Safety Manager
Beyond the universal recommendations made in NIRMA’s Best Safety Practices for Members, NIRMA makes individualized recommendations by way of assessments and inspections. These include evaluations of:
- Safety Committees
- Road Sign Programs
- Highway department shop safety
- Jail policies and procedures
- Law enforcement policies and procedures
These assessments help NIRMA fulfill its responsibility to protect members and maintain the integrity of the member fund balance.
When a county or county related public agency joins NIRMA, it accepts a shared duty: to prevent avoidable losses and protect fellow members from financial harm. Every recommendation from NIRMA is designed to reduce risk and safeguard the program’s financial health-not to “check a box,” but to uphold meaningful risk management.
As stated in NIRMA’s Mission Statement:
“NIRMA, in partnership with its member Nebraska counties and other select public agencies, leads the way in providing innovative and cost-effective insurance coverages, sound risk management strategies, and comprehensive loss prevention and safety services.”
NIRMA’s recommendations are not legal mandates; we trust that our members are committed to actively managing risk. However, when re-inspections and assessments reveal a lack of engagement, it raises concern. Poor risk management is proven to increase losses, costs, legal liability and has a negative impact on the pools.
Criteria 3 of the NIRMA Membership Eligibility Criteria is strongly linked to active risk management and states that the member presents a good risk profile based on the regular activities and functions of the agency, has acceptable claims experience, and is accepting of the risk management and loss control approaches employed by NIRMA.
NIRMA values each member, and the work of the staff serving the program is aimed at protecting the collective well-being of the program. That is why we urge all officials to recognize the importance of and follow the recommendations made during individualized assessments and inspections. Every member of the pool plays a critical part in helping to control losses and manage risks.
Feel free to reach out to me at chad@nirma.info or (402) 450-2417 with questions or training.
