From WCRP Executive Director Vyrle Hill
o the Board of Directors of the Washington Counties Risk
TPool and its Member Counties:
During the initial meeting of the WCRP Board on August 18,
1988, the Directors agreed to offer to the original 13 member
counties occurrence-based, joint self-insured coverage for
third-party liabilities with $1 million limits effective October 1,
1988. Since then, the Pool’s membership has grown to 28
participating counties, liability coverage limits have
• Membership Services: No Notices of Intent to Withdraw
from Pool membership were received by the September 30
deadline. So for the next couple of years anyway, the Pool
will remain with at least the 28 current member counties.
• Financial Position:
increased to $20 million ($25 million optional), and a property
insurance line has been added. The Pool’s success is the
result of its member knowledge, professional staff’s expertise,
and its holding to sound risk management principles.
Total Assets grew more than 7 percent, an increase of
nearly $1.5 million to $22.5 million. This includes cash and
investments that increased by 17 percent and receivables
that declined by 29 percent.
It is my pleasure on the staff’s behalf to present this Annual
Report of the Washington Counties Risk Pool for Pool Year
2006. There were many highlights during the year that ended
September 30, 2006, including:
Operating Income rose over 75 percent, from $1.8 to
$3.2 million. Included is both recovery of reinsurance
receivables and reductions by the independent actuary in
the estimates of claims reserves (decreased nearly 20
percent , from $10.4 to $8.4 million). For the first time in
years, the Pool’s reinsurance receivables are current.
This, at least in part, resulted from face-to-face discussion
between Pool leadership and reinsurance company repre-
sentatives at underwriting meetings in New York.
• Washington Counties Property Program: During the
Pool’s first year offering this coverage, participation in the
optional property program grew from the 17 counties that
had been purchasing the similar Pool-sponsored coverage,
to 22. And with three early 2007 additions, there are now
25 counties participating in this still very new program.
Non-Operating Revenues increased by nearly 340 per-
cent, more than $0.6 million, which resulted both from a
larger available surplus to invest and rising investment
rates, and from the sale of the former WCRP headquar-
ters on Clark Place in Tumwater.
• Headquarters: The Pool’s Clark Place property in Tumwa-
ter sold April 10, 2006, and was replaced in September with
a newly-constructed, five-unit office condominium in Mott-
man Plaza, 2558 R.W. Johnson Road SW, also in
Tumwater. The Pool acquired two units – the larger one for
its staff offices and a smaller three-room unit to be leased
until needed. A third common unit with lobby, restroom and
meeting rooms was acquired jointly with the Washington
Counties Insurance Fund.
Net Assets, sometimes referred to as Members’ Equity,
reached nearly $4.8 million at September 30, 2006. $3.1
million was reported as “restricted.” This satisfied the
Board of Directors July 2005 goal to achieve an actuarial
85 percent Confidence Factor within three to five years.
In addition, nearly $0.8 million was invested in Capital
Assets (net of debt). This left nearly $0.9 million at year’s
end in “Unrestricted Net Assets.”
Our combined staffs greeted nearly 100 visitors at an open
house February 1, 2007.
• Claims Services: The Claims Division remained busy
during PY2006. The database reflected 13,643 claims and
lawsuits reported to the Pool since its inception. There
remained at year’s end 153 lawsuits and 247 claims in
“open” status carrying with them nearly $2.7 million in
outstanding Pool reserves.
• Financial Audit: The Washington State Auditor’s Office
recently finished its annual audit of the Pool’s Year 2006
financial activities with no findings reflected in its reports.
It’s worth noting again that the Pool has operated since its
inception without any audit findings. Copies of the actual
reports are readily available from the State Auditor’s web-
An electronic claims-reporting tool was developed to make it
easier for members to report their counties’ claims in a
timely manner. The tool works in conjunction with the Risk-
Master claims-management software used by the Pool. A
RiskMaster systems specialist here in the Northwest was
also retained by the Pool to provide technical and adminis-
trative support for the Pool’s users of these services.
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