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Risk Management, Liability Insurance, and CALEA Accreditation

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Risk Management and CALEA Accreditation

In today’s litigious environment, state and local governments are increasingly being sued and held liable for actions committed by public employees. Activities involving public safety personnel are the source of a significant percentage of these lawsuits. This can be particularly worrisome for public safety agencies that are operating under out-dated or non-existent policies and procedures.

The adoption of performance standards, which serve to reduce risk exposures associated with these activities, is strongly encouraged. That is why CALEA’s internationally accepted accreditation programs are extremely desirable to city/state’s attorneys or government risk managers.

One of the best defenses against lawsuits brought against a public safety agency is that the agency was acting properly, in accordance with established, written policies that meet CALEA standards, and that the agency was reviewed by an independent, outside team of CALEA-trained assessors, and has been accredited by CALEA. (Related articles: Accreditation and Civil Liability and Risk Management - Kick-Start Your Program.)

Over the years, the Commission has been provided the results of several internal studies conducted by various risk management or municipal pools documenting that, within their membership, there is a positive correlation between accreditation and loss reduction.

CLICK ON REPORT NAME TO VIEW:

  1. Two Risk Management Studies Support Accreditation (June 2003).
  2. Accreditation Saves Money (February 1999).
  3. The Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency (IRMA) Report (May 1998).

We have also received anecdotal testimony from our accredited agencies attesting to the risk management benefits of CALEA accreditation. Many of these first-hand testimonies are contained in our publication AccreditationWorks!, You can view all Case Studies from the CALEA website.  For case studies about risk management, see: Case Study #2, #7, #18, #19, #20, #22, #24, #40, #45, #48, #49, #53, #54, #87.

LIABILITY INSURANCE PROVIDERS AND CALEA ACCREDITATION

One of the documented benefits of CALEA accreditation is the financial incentive offered by many insurance providers to CALEA accredited agencies. Liability insurance providers have determined that CALEA accredited agencies cost them less money, so they offer financial incentives in order to encourage agencies to become CALEA accredited. (Related articles: “CALEA Costs Covered for Ohio Sheriffs’ Offices” and “Insurance Consortium Endorses CALEA Accreditation.”) Some providers give automatic discounts on liability insurance premiums or for each sworn officer, others reimburse agencies for a percentage of their accreditation fees and/or on-site fees, and yet others provide “grants” to their insured agencies that are CALEA accredited.

You should contact your own liability insurance provider to determine their policy on CALEA accreditation.

Accreditation Works also includes case studies describing individual agency's insurance cost reduction experience.
See: Case Study #3, #8, #13, #14, #28, #53, #57, #80, #83, and #91.

CALEA does not endorse, have vested interests in, nor receives compensation from any insurance providers.

As a service to CALEA clients and prospective clients, we offer the following list of liability insurance providers known to CALEA to offer some type of financial incentive to CALEA accredited agencies:

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