Questions and Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about the Trust | Questions about Coverage | Safety Questions

1. Is there a board of directors of the Trust?

Yes. The Tennessee Risk Management Trust is governed by a nine member Board of Trustees which currently includes a county schools superintendent, a county mayor and several local school board members.

2. How are trustees chosen?

Trustees are elected from the nine geographic districts established by the Board of Trustees of the Tennessee Risk Management Trust. Members of the Board of Trustees serve staggered three-year terms with three members elected each year. The term of a Trustee is three years beginning July 1. Voting delegates of each member in a district whose trustee’s term is set to expire is contacted in April and invited to send one to three nominations to the Trust Administrator.

Each entity which is a member of the Trust may designate one voting delegate for each Trust program (worker’s compensation and board liability) in which the Trust member participates. Each voting delegate will receive a ballot for the purpose of voting for a district representative to serve a three year term on the Board of Trustees. Delegates may vote only for the representative to the Board of Trustees for the district in which their entity is located.

3. Is the Trust healthy?

Yes. There are 91 school boards in the Worker’s Compensation Program and 50 other governmental entities, primarily County governments. There are 92 school boards and 47 other governmental entities in the board liability (property and casualty) program. We are highly pleased with the success of the programs and the increased membership enables the Trust to negotiate much better rates than would otherwise be possible.

Tennessee Risk Management Trust is operating in a very financially sound manner. We have an audit and an actuarial analysis of our program done each year in order to ensure that our operating principles are on target and our practices are continuing to strengthen the Trust. Currently, our reserves are $16,359,576 and are projected to continue to grow for the remainder of the fiscal year.
The Trust’s success over the past 19 years in providing coverage to over 80% of eligible school boards and almost 50% of the county governments in Tennessee attests to its ability to provide excellent service, comprehensive coverage and competitive price.

4. Are members of the Trust required to bid insurance coverage?

No. A Tennessee statute provides that governmental entities participating in a pool such as the Trust are not required to bid for insurance (TCA 29-20-407). That is because the legislature recognizes that the Trust bids for coverage each year on its member’s behalf. The Trust is owned by its members so when your board does business with the Trust, it is doing business with itself. The more members the Trust has committed to participate during the new year, the better the bargaining power for excess insurance. When a member elects to bid that member cannot be included in the business that is guaranteed and will not benefit from the bargaining power of the Trust.