April 2008 Member Pool Request on Motor Vehicle Reports

On 4/30/08 Harold sent email broadcast:

This message is going only to the primary contact of each member pool.

A member pool is considering funding the cost of Motor Vehicle Reports services for its member entities and is interested in learning what other pools may be doing as to providing such a service to their members. Further, the pool is also interested in identifying any pools that have experience with Softech International, Inc as a provider for MVR reports.

4/30/08, Cheryle Mangels,Colorado School Districts Self Insurance Pool

Harold,

We ran into some problems with requesting MVR’s due to a law and I can’t remember whether federal or state. The individual has to sign a consent form before it can be ordered and the paperwork became a nightmare. Public entities in Colorado can request from Division of Motor Vehicle MVR’s and it is then free to them.

4/30/08, Peggy Beaudoin,Bickmore Risk Services, CA

My comments below are directed towards the first topic, Motor Vehicle Reports.

Have these pools checked with their state DMV office to see if there is a Governmental Pull Program (assuming they are public entities) they can enroll in? In the State of California, there is no charge for governmental agencies to enroll in this program which will provide them with MVRs on their enrolled employees on an annual basis as well as when a when an enrolled employee is involved in an auto accident or receives a ticket for a moving violation. Again, this program is free of charge to governmental agencies.

I would also advise they check out state regulations regarding electronic viewing, receiving of hard copies and safekeeping of the DMV reports, as driving records may fall under the Privacy Act if they don’t involve a commercial license or a hazardous materials endorsement. For those employees who are not required by law to have their driving records reviewed, signed authorization forms may be required to obtain an employee’s driving record.Pools that do not have employees would probably need to be set up as an “Agent” for receipt of DMV records through a provider. Again, they need to be sure to check with their state DMV office to find out what is involved with maintaining confidentiality on these reports and provide proper training to those who will be accessing them.

4/30/08, R. Lamar Sawyer, Jr., Texas Association of Public Schools

In Texas, we as an “insurer” do not want to get involved in any way in the MVR review process.There are cases where a company has been held liable for “negligent entrustment” because they “approved” a driver by having involvement in the MVR review process.

4/30/08, Dean Steel, Utah Risk Management Mutual Association

We had a similar problem here in Utah in that we required our members to run the reports and it cost them and was difficult to get from the State. Our Loss Control Manager worked with the State to allow the Cities to run the reports through the City at a reduced cost. We do not have any experience with Softech International, Inc.

4/30/08, Marylin Kelley, Alliant Insurance Services, Inc., CA

Several City pools in California are using SAMBA and have good results to report. While the California DMV does notify employers of violations, it can take a while to wend its way through the process. It is not infrequent to get notice two weeks after an event.SAMBA notifies the City the same day, so if action is needed to take a driver off the road it can be handled immediately.The website is

4/30/08, Everette Arnold, Local Government Property Insurance Deductible Fund, Inc., NC

I think there is a problem, IF THE POOL actually gets the MVR report and forwards

the report to the member. Just paying for the service should not be a problem.Some insurance carriers require that we pay for, or provide, MVRs to the insurance company. We pay.

4/30/08, Jim deSpelder, MASB-SEG Property/Casualty Pool, Inc., MI

Harold, I looked into this with MiddleCities and SET SEG. We would have to pay a insurance company fee for each MVR done. However, governmental entities in the State can get them for free if they follow certain procedures with the State. Hence, the Pool Directors didn't think it was necessary to expend Pool dollars.

4/30/08, David Carroll, Adams County BOCES Self Insurance Pool, CO

Our Pool pays a company called SAMBA, out of Albuquerque, to provide MVR data to our members. Members receive monthly activity reports on each listed driver, and can get immediate results or any individuals such as new hires or applicants. The cost is reasonable but the data is only fromColorado sources. We will not see any action on a driver out of state. We feel comfortable enough that the vast majority of moving violations or other problems with our employees driving would be in state.

5/1/08, Richard Park, Vermont League of Cities & Towns

Vermontmunicipalities can run MVR's free of charge through the Department of Motor Vehicles. We actually have been pushing that towns do this and we now have a handful of new members who are in the process of implementing a program.Like anything, we need to work with towns on a case by case basis because a good policy needs to be in place if they are gong to do this. We have sample policiesifyou would like one.

From Vermont League of Cities Fleet Safety Best Practices Manual on Diver Selection, Authorization and Review:

Program Administration, Roles and Responsibilities

Management should designate a person who has overall responsibility for the program administration including:

Overseeing development and implementation of your program.

Obtaining MVRs for employment and periodically thereafter for all operators of municipal vehicles (full-time, part-time, seasonal, and volunteers.), See attachment “H” for additional information

Compliance with State / Federal Labor and Transportation Laws regarding vehicle operation.

Adopting fair and responsible performance standards for all drivers. These should include disciplinary procedures that are appropriate and consistent with disciplinary procedures for other safety and labor policies. These must be stated clearly, written, communicated to employees with their acknowledgment and enforced consistently.

Establishing acceptable driving records as a condition of employment.

Conducting periodic procedural audits including driver observations for department compliance.

ATTACHMENT HMETHOD FOR OBTAINING MVRs FOR MUNICIPAL DRIVERS

The following information was obtained from the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles “INFORMATION FOR USE IN RECORD REQUEST” dated 12/23/05

INFORMATION FOR MUNICIPALITIES:

  • Go to
  • Select Forms
  • Select Record Forms
  • Select form TAVG #116 DPPA Record Request
  • Complete this form and mail to the address on top of the form

OTHER RELATED INFORMATION:

  • Municipalities must complete the form available on the departments website
  • It is best to request the three year operating record
  • No fee incurred for municipalities
  • Results take about a week

PLEASE REMEMBER YOU MUST HAVE THE SUBECT DRIVER’S CONSENT BEFORE REQUESTING A MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVING RECORD

5/2/08, John Nielsen, Ohio Transit Risk Pool

For the last 3 and a half years OTRP has taken on 100% responsibility for doing MONTHLY MVR reviews of all of our member’s drivers who operate OTRP insured vehicles, about 2000 in all. Drivers with over 6 points on their licenses (in a 3-year period) are UNINSURABLE by OTRP. All drivers with 4 or more are put on a watch list. The company that does the MVR work to identify any drivers that are over the 6 point threshold (or approaching it) is SAMBA out of Albuquerque, NM. We highly recommend them to other pools that are serious about monitoring their drivers on and off the job driving habits/behaviors.

5/5/08, Cindy Dieck, American Risk Pooling Consultants, Inc., MI

One of our pools reimburses for the cost of MVRs. There are quite a few considerations in such a program. I will list a few, but if you or the member pool would like to call me, please feel free.

1. Verification – how are the records acquired and payment verified. We developed and use an application form with a reimbursement method. Members hold their receipts, complete the application, submit the form and receipts, and are reimbursed on their renewal.

2. Frequency – how often can the member request and be reimbursed. We allow for unlimited requests currently. Those criteria may change in the future as the program becomes more mature and popular. From our experience, the most a member has submitted has been for the entire fire department on a monthly basis. Our current view is that we support their efforts.

3. Procedures – what are the legal, human resource, and risk management issues. I discussed this issue with SHRM, PRIMA, and a few other organizations prior to program implementation. To reduce or eliminate the contractor risk, we do not utilize an outside vendor. The membership is encouraged to request it directly from their DMV. We developed specific marketing pieces with “how to” information because we found that each state has different procedures, affiliated costs and forums (some are available via the Internet).

4. Policies – From a loss control standpoint, this was very important. How does the member handle the information once it is acquired. We clearly communicated the proposed program to loss control in the developmental stages so members would be prepared with appropriate policies in place to follow prior to even acquiring the MVRs.

5. Mandate – should this be required by all members of the pool. We found that some members felt this was mandatory while others preferred it as an option. We approached it as an optional program because we did not want to mandate administrative procedures for the entities because it was not a necessity for all members. In one case, a member called to say they thought we had mandated it and could not comply; therefore, we issued a written response that it was optional but advisable to identify potential risk exposures. It was not an underwriting requirement.

6. Cost – Last but not last, can this be budgeted and what should be considered. A cost benefit analysis is important to the issue. Each state has its own costs. Our pool, in light of their surplus, found this to be a cost-effective way to assist members, underwriting, marketing and loss control. It is a win-win. The newly developed program, initiated 1/1/08, was highlighted in several communications and has received very positive feedback from the members, loss control and marketing. The program is still in the infancy stage, in my opinion, and like our CDL program, it will probably take off when more members become aware of it. Therefore, we may re-evaluate the criteria at that time. At this time, approximately 5% of the membership has taken advantage of the program, which totals a few thousand dollars. Well worth the benefit of the program.

5/21/08, Peter Erndwein, DelawareValley Insurance Trusts, PA

Rick Lee forwarded your request to my attention.

We currently run MVR and PA criminal background checks as a value-added service to members of our property and liability Trust (DVIT). We had to apply and receive approval from the PA Department of Transportation to run the MVR checks. Prior to running the MVR checks, we ask members to have the applicant sign a release (see attached). Once we get the report, we forward the report to the member via email. Per the advice of our general counsel, we do not maintain copies of the MVR printouts. To date, the process has run quite smoothly.We do not have any experience using Softech.

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