Q&A with Rick George: Trust helps schools survive in time of crisis

Q: What is the Oklahoma Schools Risk Management Trust?

A: Oklahoma Schools Risk Management Trust was established in 2009 in partnership with the Oklahoma State School Boards Association to help Oklahoma schools combat the high cost of traditional property/casualty insurance. Under the trust, public schools have access to property and casualty insurance, as well as professional liability and school board legal liability coverage. The trust is governed by a board of trustees, which is comprised of Oklahoma superintendents, business officials and school board members and is independently audited each year.

Q: Why was the trust created?

A: At the time, schools were seeing property insurance premiums that were increasing as much as 40 percent. Former superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools, Dr. Keith Ballard, led the effort to establish a collaborative approach that would strengthen schools' bargaining position when purchasing property/casualty insurance.

Q: What are the benefits of OSRMT for Oklahoma schools?

A: Because Oklahoma Schools Risk Management Trust is structured as an insurance pool, the trust provides schools better coverage at a lower cost. Before the trust's creation, schools faced limited options for insurance programs and often settled for inadequate coverage and unchecked rate increases. Since the trust was established in 2009, schools have saved more than $8 million in contributions. In that same time, the trust has managed more than $44 million in claims on behalf of its member schools.

Q: Can you give us some examples of schools that took advantage of this coverage following a loss event?

A: We've seen numerous schools that have benefited from membership in Oklahoma Schools Risk Management Trust. In Dover, the high school building was damaged by fire and the trust was able to pay $4 million to rebuild that facility. Locust Grove and Kingfisher suffered significant damage from hail storms. Those schools received a combined $3.2 million for roof repairs. In Bixby, the trust provided $800,000 to rebuild the bus barn after a fire claimed the structure. These are just a small sample of the situations from which the trust has helped schools recover.

PAULA BURKES, BUSINESS WRITER