My late uncle was just like you, a government employee. He worked as a treasurer in a municipality. One day, someone stole a large amount of cash from where he worked. The municipality panicked because they found out that their employee theft insurance has expired. In desperation, the municipality accused the treasurer, my uncle, for the larceny.
He concealed himself for 6 months because he had no money to give. Later, they found out he was not the one who stole that money. Nevertheless, imagine, 6 months away from your family. 6 months of hiding from society. All that just for being accused of some crime he has nothing to do with. It sucks, right?
Why do public entities need insurances?
That’s just one possible challenge municipality and county government workers face every day. These challenges come with risks and possible financial losses. Government officials are aware of this which is why they understand the importance of having insurances, and why not tracking your insurances are as risky as not having insurances at all.
These insurances depend on the sector of a municipality. For example, public services that own fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances cannot be called responsible without automobile insurance. Property insurance is essential for public buildings like municipal halls and hospitals. Employment theft insurance is to cover for financial losses whether or not the perpetrator is identified.
How COI Tracker helps Municipalities and Counties
A lot more insurances are needed to make sure public entities safe from risks. All of these insurances can easily be found on a certificate of insurance. What is not easy is making sure that:
- COIs are Legit
- Insurances are up to date
- Policies are perfect for your sector
- Insurances have the widest coverages
- The costs of monitoring your COI is at minimum
- Your time is not wasted in checking your insurances
A public entity can save a TON of time, effort, and risk when using a reliable COI tracker. With more problems happening each day, the worst thing that could happen is the belief you are insured not knowing your insurance is already expired. Otherwise, you probably thought a certain claim was covered yet it was not.
How can a COI tracker make sure COI is legit?
Many contractors want to work with the government because they can pay big bucks right away. Contractors bid with their lowest price of service. Hundreds participate in these biddings. Which means you would likely need to review all of the COIs. If you want to do this manually, you would have to:Go online to check the company’s website
- Go online to check the company’s website
- Contact the insurance company that provided you with the COI
- Check the details on every COI you receive regardless of who it’s from:
- No strange corrections
- All fonts must be the same
- COIs should not look like it’s been recopied several times
- The insurance provider’s contact information must be included on the COI
- Look for mentions from online forums that prove the company’s authenticity
Sounds exhausting right? In addition, you still have many other things to do. Fortunately, functional systems have been developed. These systems allow for simple reviewing, making it easy to find errors and red flags across every document, you receive. A COI tracker is the perfect system for this.
Remove “check renewal dates” from your task list
Because a COI tracker is automated, it will prompt you whenever there is an insurance in need of renewal. You can have the convenience of not having to worry about renewal dates. Moreover, you can strike out that “check renewal date” off your to-do list.
Human error causes county data loss
Even though public employees are doing their jobs the best they could, they are not immune to fatigue and errors. Human error is the biggest threat to your data.
Just this year, the Fayette County Commissioners reported a case of lost data. Up to 6 months of data for a few county offices were lost due to a “human error.”
If counties and municipalities continue to use unsecured software or manual monitoring, there will be more incidents like this. To minimize this risk, it is important to use a COI tracker that prioritizes your data’s security.
COI tracker reduces your costs and gives you more time for other tasks
If you choose the best COI tracker, you can reduce your COI tracking expenses by 30%. Not to mention the financial risks involved if the COIs are not properly checked. Most people believe that employees can do a good job of monitoring COI for just 15 minutes. In reality, to get 90% compliance, an employee needs at least 38 minutes per certificate.
As a municipal/county worker, you need to manage whatever time you have to finish other tasks on time. COI tracking is a hectic task that can easily be diminished. The only way to do that is with the help of a trusted COI tracker. If you have one, you can allocate your COI tracking budget to other matters. You will have more time in your hands. In addition, you can sleep well knowing your municipality/county is secure.