Delaware history has been made after the Dept. of Insuranceapproved and issued a Certificate of Authority for the DeLea FoundersInsurance Trust (DFIT) to operate as the first-ever JointMunicipal Insurance Trust for Workers’ Compensation.

The announcement comes as a result of an eight-year effort ofGeorge Wright of the Delaware League of Local Governments, TheresaDeSanto of Strategic Insurance Partners, and a core group ofmunicipal members led by chair Ted Becker.

The DFIT Program is sponsored by the DLLG, under directionof Theresa DeSanto as the program administrator, and began in2008 as a fully insured, group purchasing program for Delawaremunicipalities. The DFIT began with 11 founding memberships, hasgrown to 21 municipalities, and now represents membership of morethan a third of all municipalities in the state of Delaware.

“The DFIT’s approval to become self insured provides Delawaremunicipalities the with the opportunity to realize the benefits ofa strong workplace safety program, which has reduced their overallcosts for workers’ compensation insurance. As the program movesforward, we look forward to other Delaware municipalities joiningour 21 founding members as we strive to deliver outstanding serviceat the lowest possible cost,” said Ted Becker, mayor of the City ofLewes and the DFIT Chair since 2008.

Over the past six years, the DFIT members have experienced costsavings, pro-active risk control and other services, resulting inthe 40% reduction of the group claims, and directly impacting theadditional benefit of members return premiums. DFIT Trusteesestablished accounts for these funds to be applied toward aself-insured plan at a later date. The combination of the growthpremiums in excess of $2 million, an the excess reserves that havecompiled over the past six years placed the members in thefinancial position to achieve their ultimate goal of a self-insuredgroup program.

The DFIT Program will continue to provide its members withbetter, long-term control of their insurance costs. DFIT Membersare no longer subject to the DCRB rates, or general marketincreases imposed by insurance companies.

Historically, the DFIT group claims have performed extremelywell, far better than the claims performance of the generalindustry. Through the program, embers will directly reap thefinancial rewards of their clams performance and proactive safetyand risk control, fostering a culture of safety for employees.

“The DFIT Program is a great opportunity which allows local andcounty governments to partner together for better control of their‘insurance destiny,’” said George Wright, executive director of theDelaware League of Local Governments. “With heavy emphasis onexcellent risk control and safety programs, the members willcontinue to receive financial rewards for their good claimsperformance, and at the same time, foster an image of everydaysafety to their employees.”

“I am hopeful that our membership will continue to grow rapidlyover the next few months, and I fully anticipate this will becomethe statewide, premier placement of insurance for allmunicipalities in Delaware. The larger the revenue stream of thisprogram, the financial benefits will only continue to increase andensue the program sustains for many years to come.”