The Redwoods Group Insurance Program for YMCAs

The Redwoods Group has partnered with the non-profit community for many years providing both insurance products and risk management services that are designed to keep an organization’s members, program participants, and guests safe. One frequently used risk management tool is the Risk Management Alert or RMA.

An RMA is a short, focused look at a small portion or segment of a JCO’s programming or operations that is designed to reduce injuries and losses. Its origin may be found in something that our staff has repeatedly noticed during site visits, in a query from a JCO, or in an upcoming seasonal activity. Typically it will do some or all of the following:

· identify potential challenges and pit-falls

· voice critical, pertinent questions

· cite appropriate examples or data

· list applicable products: manufacturer, specific product, and website or telephone information

· provide practical ways to modify the protocol or activity to reduce the potential for injury or loss

· suggest ways to mitigate loss that does occur

· offer similar, safer alternative programming or activities to replace the more dangerous one

Although RMAs will be the most frequent type of communication that you receive from our Risk Management Department, one of the following specialized derivatives might be utilized.

Risk Management Topics (RMTs), while similar to RMAs, are more comprehensive. They either provide more detail than their RMA counterpart or address a topic that cannot be satisfactorily summarized in the limited one-page format of an RMA.

Lessons in the News are drawn from current events. They cite a news article (either in a rewritten or redacted form so the involved organization is not easily identified) and use it as the basis of a lesson in what to do and not do in similar circumstances. These may relate triumph or tragedy in nearly any topic or activity but will either involve a JCO or an organization with similar programming or operations.

Transportation Alerts, Abuse Alerts, and Aquatic Alerts are similar to Lessons but they are more focused in that they draw from a current event in the named arena. The events are restricted to items that

· have occurred in a JCO

· relate a preventable tragedy

· have education value…i.e., are not provided just as news or for shock value but are presented to teach a lesson that may prevent similar occurrences

The risk management informational tools cited above are meant to inform you of exposures to your organization and members. Please share them with your colleagues and associates…if you know of others who may benefit from receiving them, we will be happy to add their name and email address to our distribution list (which is not sold or shared with others). If you have a pertinent news article or a topic suggestion, please contact your Redwoods Group Risk Manager.