In This Issue

• AOT 2021 Annual Meeting and Training School – An All-Virtual Educational and Networking Event
• NYCOM 2021 Virtual Winter Legislative Meeting
• Comp Alliance Provides Additional Facemasks
• Live Virtual Safety Seminar Schedule
• Common Workers’ Compensation Exposures of Police and Fire Departments
• The WCB Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) Program for Electronic Enhancements
• Claim Reporting – Don’t be Late
• Communicable Disease Continuous Operation Plans
• Coronavirus Controls and Updates
• Stay Informed

Read more: The Alliance Advisor January 2021 Quarterly E-Newsletter

The New York State Municipal Workers' Compensation Alliance (Comp Alliance) has issued a Member Loyalty Award for its 2020-2021 fiscal year. Award checks have been distributed to all current members. Award amounts are based on the individual member's longevity of membership with the Comp Alliance and their annual funding contribution. Those with June and July effective dates received their checks later in the summer of 2020 and those that have effective dates in January will receive their loyalty award checks shortly.

The Comp Alliance Board of Trustees recognizes the difficulties our members are going through in this unprecedented time. In appreciation of its members that have stood by the Comp Alliance and contributed to its continued success, the Comp Alliance is again distributing a portion of its surplus to members. This special monetary award reflects a recognition by the Board of Trustees of fiscal challenges faced by municipalities and provides a tangible benefit of municipal cooperation by returning funds to local governments and schools for the betterment of their communities.

The Comp Alliance is a not-for-profit workers' compensation group self-insurance program for municipalities and school districts, with a focus on improving workplace safety and providing stable funding for its members. When the Alliance was formed in the early 1990's, municipalities in New York struggled to annually budget for unpredictable workers' compensation costs. The Comp Alliance offers its members budgetary stability and the opportunity to achieve significant savings by sharing the costs of workers' compensation insurance. Today, the Comp Alliance has more than 300 members, $40 million in contributions and more than $60 million surplus to maintain long-term financial stability.

With sponsorship and oversight by the Association of Towns of the State of New York and the New York State Conference of Mayors, the Comp Alliance's mission remains the same as it was 26 years ago - ensuring members are able to meet their long-term workers' compensation liabilities while maintaining stable funding contributions.

For more information on the Member Loyalty Award Program, please contact a Comp Alliance Marketing Manager or your insurance broker.

The 2021 AOT Annual Meeting & Training School sessions and exhibit will all be conducted online due to continuing concerns with in-person meetings. The event will include virtual educational sessions as well as the vendors and exhibitors for attendees to network with.

The Comp Alliance encourages you to join the virtual exhibits throughout the event and to participate in the educational sessions, including the following sessions which we are presenting.

First Responders Injuries - Cause and Corrections - Monday 2/15 from 10:10-11:00 AM - With the potential for employees to sustain serious injury while responding to an emergency response call, police and fire departments represent a large risk for municipalities. Administrators should understand how these first responder injuries are likely to occur in order to recommend improvements to prevent them in the future. This program will review the frequency of police officer and fire fighter injuries, identify the cause of injuries and what body parts are most effected, including those losses with the most severe impact on departments, and recommend some remedies to reduce these types of injuries.

Workers’ Comp in a Pandemic - Monday 2/15 from 11:10-12:00 Noon - We will have an open-panel discussion on workplace exposures during the on-going pandemic, how municipal operations can succeed when proper precautionary procedures are followed, and how does the aspect of working from home effects workplace injuries, and how can departments maintain safe operations when workers are out sick or quarantined in these times. Our approach to investigating and responding to COVID 19 claims received to date, the legislative response in New York as well as other states, and thoughts regarding
the future of COVID in the claims arena.