COVERAGES FOR
Public Housing Authorities
Public Housing Authorities
For more than thirty-three years, we have worked with public housing authorities to pool risk and offer innovative claims service and risk management solutions at a tremendous value. Our loss control and risk-transfer experts provide personalized hands-on client service and training for every housing authority member throughout four Western states. And we’re here to help you.
Who can join?
Our risk-sharing pool for public housing authorities is limited to Public Housing Agencies (PHA) as approved government entities authorized to administer HUD housing programs. We serve PHAs in Oregon, Washington, California, and Nevada.
Primary Coverages Offered
Property
Protection against risks to property caused by the perils of fire, theft, or weather.
Liability
Protection for property owners resulting from negligent or inappropriate actions.
Automobile
Protects a housing authority for claims resulting from use of an owned vehicle.
Fidelity
Protects an owner from loss due to employee dishonesty such as theft, forgery or fraud.
Errors & Omissions
Protecting entities inadequately performing a professional service not covered by liability.
Section 8 Liability
Protecting owners and entities providing housing for Section 8 Choice Voucher tenants.
Why Pooling?
Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) have choices in where insurance coverages are obtained. Pooling, an alternative to the commercial markets, provides stability, service and pricing.
Risk pools date back to the mid ’80s when commercial insurance companies decided they would no longer underwrite public agencies. The appetite for certain industries changes overnight in the commercial insurance environment. Habitational risks have experienced a high frequency of commercial insurance companies come and go over the last thirty years. Risk pools serve a vital function for their members in an ever-changing insurance environment.
Benefits of participating in the Synchrous pool:
Member-Focused and Responsive
The Board of Directors consists of PHA Executive Directors who understand how their decisions will affect members.
Equity
Each member of the pool is an owner of the pool; therefore, each owner has equity.
Cost Effective
As a public entity, Synchrous has no profit load, no taxes, no state insurance commissioner fees and pays no commissions. All this controls the costs of providing specific coverage for our Members.
Long Term Rate Stability
Pooling spreads the cost of risk among the members, thus stabilizing costs. The public agency risk pool has significant financial redundancies (surplus) that can be used to absorb fluctuations in market pressures or adverse claims experience.
Risk Control, Training, Claims Administration
Synchrous offers a wide array of services and aggressive claims resolution. This includes online training, in person staff training, attorney helpline and pool provided speakers on specific subjects such as Fair Housing. The claims philosophy at Synchrous is to pay claims that are justified and fight those claims that are not.
Tailored Coverage
Synchrous utilizes a manuscripted coverage agreement, which simply means that the Board of Directors controls what is and what is not covered. This provides unparalleled flexibility to quickly adapt to changing conditions. Any coverage adjustments can be done internally and does not need to be validated by state insurance officials. The coverages are designed to encompass day to day operational risks encountered by Members, not an off the rack insurance product that covers exposures not present in PHA operations.
HUD Waiver
HUD’s regulation 24 CFR 965 governs public housing insurance requirements. Being a member of HARRP fulfills the requirements and eliminates the need for the PHA to go to competitive bidding.
Non-Assessable
In the event of the dissolution of the pool, the pool cannot assess members for future liabilities. Many pools that experience bad claims assess their members for the shortfall of funds needed to pay the claims. These assessments can sometimes be decades after the claims have occurred and many times assessments are levied against former members that no longer participate in the pool.
Subsidiaries
The Synchrous subsidiaries Housing Authorities Risk Retention Pool (HARRP), Affordable Housing Risk Pool, LLC (AHRP) and ORWACA Agency Insurance Services, LLC. are designed to bring all the needed insurance products under one roof, be it through self-insured pooling or on the open, traditional insurance marketplace.
Are there additional services available to housing authorities?
Yes. We offer supplemental coverages for members of our self-insurance risk pools facing coverage issues outside the scope of intergovernmental agreements. These represent just a few of the additional coverages we provide. If you’re interested in coverages not shown in the list below, please contact us. There’s a good chance we can help.
What makes these services valuable?
- Dedicated to Public Housing Authorities
- Stable rates
- Low cost
- Comprehensive coverage
What makes these services different?
- Custom-tailored solutions
- Unparalleled expertise and resources
- Attorney Helpline
Supplemental Coverage options include, but are not limited to:
- Service providers in housing authority buildings
- Directors and officers insurance for independent nonprofit Boards related to housing
- Professional liability; Errors and omissions (E&O)
- Flood and earthquake for any building
- Difference in conditions (DIC)
- Employment practices liability
- Builder’s risk
- Bonding / surety
- Bid and performance
- Miscellaneous bonds
- Fundraising or special event policies
- Lead-based paint professional liability
- Tenant discrimination
- Boiler and machinery
- Mechanical breakdown
- Underground storage tank liability
- Other pollution-related coverage
Contact us to discuss supplemental coverages options for your existing or new policy:
