This One Simple Solution Is Helping Public Entities Drastically Reduce Winter Slip and Fall Claims

Public entities see serious claims during winter months, but thanks to Marcus Henthorn and his Gallagher team, icy conditions don’t stand a chance.

By: Autumn Demberger | March 13, 2019

Public safety is no joke. Every year, public entities are faced with a slew of general liability claims for slips, trips and falls.

“We had over 1,000 claims over the course of 5 years with an incurred value greater than $7 million,” said Tim Vincent, program manager, multi-line program at the Vermont School Board Insurance Trust (VSBIT). His team saw that winter conditions — snowy weather and icy paths — were a leading cause of their troubles.

“We evaluated a number of different options such as ice and snow removal guidelines, which we implemented, and crampons for shoes, which were not practical, yet always struggled to reduce the frequency of slips and falls on ice and snow.”

For more than 35 years, VSBIT has served a large portion of Vermont’s school districts. The team wanted to come up with a slip and fall solution, not just for the schools but also for the safety of the public.

“We wanted to implement something that raised awareness to freezing temperatures and subsequently dangerous conditions on walkways, entrances and parking lots,” said Vincent.

Why the Public Sector Is Vulnerable

“Your car warns you at 37 degrees, because icy conditions are not always obvious, even during winter,” said Marcus Henthorn, area vice president, Gallagher. It’s one explanation as to why so many slips and falls occur in the first place; people are unaware of how easily ice can lie waiting.

Marcus Henthorn, area vice president, Gallagher

“More often than not, when employees or patrons slip and fall on snow and ice — it’s coming back to our clients.”

Henthorn has served public entities for as long as he’s been with Gallagher. He noted that most of his clients tend to be a part of a larger pool, which has both its advantages and setbacks when it comes to member-wide risk management.

Speaking generally, Henthorn said, “the amount of money spent on claims associated with slips, trips and falls, specifically on snow and ice, has and will continue to be a problem. Shoveling and salting sidewalks is only as dependable as the maintenance and grounds staff employed by each individual member of the pool.”

Additionally, public entities have a lot of turnover. “Leadership plays musical chairs as administrators move from one organization to the next,” said Henthorn. As new people come in, priorities can fluctuate: “A strong focus on safety can be put on the back burner as more pressing issues require immediate attention.

“It’s a cultural issue. We were looking for a solution that immediately impacted safety culture,” said Henthorn.

Icy Weather Signage

He found his answer through icy condition signage. While seemingly a small addition to overall risk management programs, these signs could be placed at every entrance and exit, alerting passersby of icy conditions. A small mechanism would change colors — from silver to blue — when temperatures dropped below 37 degrees.

“You can try to stay ahead of the conditions,” said Henthorn. “But the signs create a permanent function of awareness.”

VSBIT decided these signs were worth the test, reviewing their program and installing them at 10 of their schools.

“Those schools had 39 losses and almost $240,000 in losses the prior 5 years,” explained Vincent. “In the [first] year of implementation, those same schools had only one slip and fall in total. The feedback from member schools was all positive.”

VSBIT, which rolled out phase one over the 2017-18 season, grew its sign program after that, expanding for the 2018-19 season.

“We have since rolled it out to a total of 39 schools, and our board has given approval for further signs to be implemented next year.”

Collaboration Is Key

Seeing the success of the VSBIT in its first year, Henthorn was eager to gather more data. “The return on investment that VSBIT achieved in their pilot couldn’t be ignored,” he said. “I wanted to see additional results from a second study.”

Enter the Libraries of Illinois Risk Agency (LIRA), another one of Henthorn’s clients. Julie Milavec, director of the Downers Grove Public Library and a member of LIRA since its inception, said “winter weather seemed to cause a vast majority of claims. Slips and falls were the cause of a huge amount of accidents and claims made within the program.”

In fact, Henthorn noted, LIRA and the VSBIT both had similar slip and fall data due to winter weather despite being different programs in different states. He went to Vincent to see if he could share the results thus far.

“Collaborative efforts undertaken by pool members reduce risks and associated costs, however, those collaborations are often kept within the members of that specific pool,” explained Henthorn.

Luckily, Vincent saw it differently: “We are not in competition with these pools,” he said, “so if there is a way we can collaborate and share resources, then it exponentially increases the strength of our risk management team by being able to pull from the experience and expertise of other pools that are dealing with the same issues … It was a no brainer when Marcus brought up the topic.”

With LIRA, Henthorn didn’t hold back: He shared the successes of the VSBIT with the libraries’ liability and workers’ comp insurance carriers.

“In fact, he got the insurance carriers to pay for the first sign for each member,” said Milavec. Together, Henthorn and the carriers created a loss control grant, which guaranteed one sign for each member of LIRA going into the 2018-19 season.

Then, going one step further, Henthorn made it even easier for LIRA members to order more signs.

“I tried to design a streamlined ordering process by building it into the renewal application,” he explained. So far, LIRA is seeing great results — they haven’t had one slip or fall claim yet this winter.

“Public entities don’t compete with one another like the private sector,” Henthorn said. “Without the willingness of VSBIT to share their idea, the LIRA grant program would never exist.”
He’s already working with other clients for signage implementation for the 2019-20 winter season.

“It’s important, [as a broker], when we see a product that works, that we make every effort to deliver it to our clients. Pools are a result of innovation; we need to share ideas to address the continuing challenges our clients face in managing risk.”

It is this very philosophy on collaboration that earned Henthorn a 2019 Power Broker® designation in the Public Sector category. Henthorn is also considered a 2019 Rising Star.

“Marcus is and has been the facilitator of this collaboration amongst pools, and I strongly believe that we are all better for that effort,” added Vincent. &

Autumn Demberger is a freelance writer and can be reached at [email protected].

Why Insureds Might See an Uptick in M&PL Claims

George Schalick, Jr., Senior Vice President of the Management and Professional Liability Division, Philadelphia Insurance Companies

The current soft market might come as a bit of a surprise as it does not track with previous underwriting cycles and economic conditions. Afterall, many privately held and non-profit organizations struggled during the early days of the pandemic with shutdowns and rapidly declining revenues. But the Government assistance programs, like the Paycheck Protection Program loans, helped keep many afloat during the tough times.

“During COVID many organizations stopped doing business until they were able to sort out all of the health and safety challenges,” Schalick said. “They were forced to lock down, but then all the government assistance programs allowed them to keep people employed. The increased volume of claims we anticipated we would see coming from the lockdowns and restrictions that were imposed upon businesses in the U.S. didn’t manifest at first.”

“Just because there wasn’t an onslaught of reported claims at the beginning of the pandemic, doesn’t mean the circumstances that would give rise to a claim being reported didn’t occur. Courts and the judicial system were closed or slowed and now that they are back open, we’re starting to see the circumstances that occurred during the COVID lockdowns becoming claims today,” Schalick said. “Litigation is progressing.”

Added to the delayed pandemic litigation is a concern over newer claims that might be filed as the country inches toward an economic downturn. Though a recession was avoided in 2023, experts think a soft dip could occur in 2024, with 76% of economists saying there’s a 50% or less chance of an economic downturn this year — that almost always results in more management liability claims.

“During the Great Recession in 2008, we saw an almost immediate spike in claims because of the economic conditions and the pressure it placed on organizations. They were making personnel changes with significant belt tightening almost immediately.” Schalick said.

What’s in Store for M&PL Policy Rates in 2024?

Despite an uptick in claims and increased economic uncertainty, management liability rates haven’t increased, resulting in market-wide pricing levels that may not meet the increased pressure of rising settlements and jury verdicts.

“Rates are going the other direction and settlement values are not falling,” Schalick said.

The mismatch between rates, claim frequency and severity is, in part, because carriers experiencing the dramatic soft market in the public D&O market are seeking premium gain in the private and non-profit market.

“In the public company market, the rates have been decreasing significantly. The rates were increasing in the private, not-for-profit market, and rightfully so, but there’s a desire to supplement overall mid-size D&O for carriers who also write private not-for-profit, and they see that as an opportunity to aggregate premium,” Schalick said. “So the always competitive landscape in the private, not-for-profit market has dramatically increased in the last 18 to 24 months.”

Still, companies of all sizes and types should be concerned about management liability rates in the future. Legal system abuse is resulting in increases in both the amount of litigation and the size of verdicts plaintiffs are receiving.

Certain areas of the country are particularly vulnerable to this type of legal system abuse. As a result, insureds in these localities are likely to be vulnerable to rate increases.

“The environment is so positive for the plaintiff that forces premium increases so carriers are able to stay in that market long term,” Schalick said.

Why a Tenured Carrier Partner Can Help Insureds Navigate An Uncertain Market

It’s clear that insureds are facing an uncertain M&PL market over the next few years. Fortunately, carriers with a long history in the M&PL space will be there to offer stability.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies has been supporting this market for 35 years. PHLY is committed to offering long-term rate stability, even as economic and claims trends start to push premiums upwards. They have an appetite for all sorts of companies, large and small, for-profit and nonprofit alike.

“We’ve been at this game for a long time and are one of the most tenured underwriters in this space,” Schalick said. “We like to stay very consistent.”

PHLY has worked with both for-profit and non-profit on management liability policies. With dedicated M&PL teams throughout the company’s 13 regions, PHLY provides the support agents and brokers are looking for on behalf of their clients. The teams know their regions well and can respond to local trends. They’re also dedicated to making the renewal process as easy as possible for their partners and policyholders.

“We have real confidence in our results, so we focus a lot on making the renewal experience as painless as possible for all agents and insureds,” Schalick said.

The company is also investing in tools to help insureds avoid losses. Earlier this year, they launched a new online risk management platform, PHLYGateway, which offers resources for insureds on how to create an employee handbook and trainings on issues such as recognizing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.

If insureds have questions, they can consult a Best Practices Help Line, provided via the platform. That way, they can get on the spot risk management guidance to help them prevent claims.

To learn more, visit: https://www.phly.com/mplDivision/managementLiability/default.aspx.

This article was produced by the R&I Brand Studio, a unit of the advertising department of Risk & Insurance, in collaboration with Philadelphia Insurance Companies. The editorial staff of Risk & Insurance had no role in its preparation.