Who Are We
The Washington State Legislature, under RCW 48.62, 50.44 and 51.14 has provided authority for local governmental entities to individually or jointly self-insure risks, jointly purchase insurance or reinsurance, and to contract for risk management, claims, and administrative services. In accordance with these laws, and other regulating Washington State Revised Codes and Administrative Codes the school districts in Southwest Washington State have come together to self-insure, self-administer and group purchase insurance coverages to meet their insurance needs.
The Worker's Compensation Trust, Unemployment Insurance Pool and the Risk Management Insurance Cooperative that make up Insurance Programs provides safety consultations, claims handling and administrative services to those school districts who have come together to form these entities. The Educational Service District 112 acts as the fiscal agent for these entities as well as being a participating member in the three programs. Insurance Programs also assists the Columbia River Gorge Employee Health Purchasing Cooperative by providing consulting services.
The Risk Cooperative and the Worker's Compensation Trust pride themselves on the expertise of staff in handling the claims from start to finish in an efficient and fair manner. We are proud of our expertise in matters of safety relative to school district facilities and personnel. We pride ourselves in our ability to maintain and build sound financial bases from which to operate, maintaining funding in excess of a 95% confidence level in both programs (PriceWaterhouseCoopers actuarial report for period ending August 31, 2003).
The Unemployment Insurance Pool provides low cost unemployment insurance coverage for its membership. The unemployment claims made against the membership are handled by the Washington State Employment Security Department (www.go2ui.com) and reimbursed by the Unemployment Insurance Pool. The Unemployment Insurance Pool provides representation for its members at Administrative Hearings, as well as advising the membership on current law changes and employment practices relative to unemployment insurance. The Unemployment Insurance Pool operates from a sound financial base, which allow the Pool to maintain reserves to meet actuarial recommendations and to provide a refund to its membership from time to time.