NEWS RELEASE
Salem County Board of Chosen Freeholders
94 Market Street. Salem, N.J. 08079
CONTACT: Deborah Turner-Fox, Clerk of the Board/Administrator
February 11, 2003
Salem County’s Broker of Records Delivers the Dough
The decision of appointing Commerce National Insurance Services has already yielded immediate financial rewards to the taxpayers of Salem County according to Freeholder Director John A. Kugler.
The new Broker of Records for Salem County has undertaken a comprehensive review and audit of all policies, providers and coverages. As a result of their audit, Commerce has discovered a $70,000 surplus, which had been building in one provider’s account over the last ten (10) years. Commerce recommended that we leave $20,000 in the surplus account for future protection and return the remaining $50,000 to the county. This money has been transferred to the county treasurer for the purposes of controlling taxes.
Freeholder Director Jack Kugler stated that Commerce was selected based upon their proven ability to deal with municipal entities and other clients in the Southern New Jersey area. They have a vast and comprehensive knowledge of the insurance industry and have the expertise to benefit the county in the short term. Additionally, their efforts are expected to benefit the county in the long term by providing additional cost savings as well.
Commerce is able to leverage economies of scale and benchmark our operations as well as provide other value added services to streamline our efforts and reduce operating costs. Additionally, they are poised to begin to provide additional services, free of charge, to various county departments. Some of these services include, COBRA management, retiree benefit management, facility audits, and HIPAA guidance.