Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, August 17, 2016—Page 9A
Burke County receives special one-time
return from ACCG insurance programs
Burke County recently re
ceived a check in the amount
of $93,400 representing its
share of a $5 million one
time special return from the
ACCG - Group Self-Insur
ance Workers’ Compensation
Fund (GSIWCF). ACCG is
Georgia’s county association
and works on behalf of county
officials and their communi
ties by providing public pol
icy and legislative advocacy,
leadership development, civic
and community engagement
initiatives, insurance and
retirement programs that spe
cialize in local government
needs and other cost-saving
programs.
“We welcome the oppor
tunity to recognize our loyal
program participants and
reward longevity in our pro
grams,” said ACCG Executive
Director Ross King. "Over
166 counties and authorities
trust ACCG to provide for
their workers’ compensation
insurance needs through our
well-established and respect
ed program that specializes in
the needs of Georgia county
governments.” The ACCG
- Group Self-Insurance Work-
ers 1 Compensation Fund
(GSIWCF) was established in
1982. Organizations partici
pating in the workers’ com
pensation insurance program
since 2014 are eligible for the
special one-time return.
Each year, premiums are
collected from the member
ship and the workers’ com
pensation benefits are paid to
the injured workers. While
some injuries are minor and
benefits are paid quickly, ben
efits for more serious injuries
may be paid over the course
of ten or more years. The
portion of the premium that
is not immediately needed
results as investment income
to the program.
"This action underscores
the benefit of participating in
a county-owned program,"
said ACCG President and
Elbert County Chairman
Tommy Lyon. "We have the
flexibility to share a portion of
these gains with the member
ship whereas a commercial
carrier would likely have kept
the profit or distributed it to its
shareholders."
Recently, the Board of Trust
ees determined that it was in
the best interest of the fund
to eliminate one of the three
money managers that manage
an investment portfolio on
behalf of the program. The in
vestments from the terminated
money manager were sold in
order to transfer the portfolio
to the remaining managers
which resulted in an influx of
realized gains. After assessing
the strength and stability of the
program with external consul
tants, the Board of Trustees
agreed that a portion of these
gains could be returned to the
participating organizations.
“We are very excited to have
the opportunity to allot this
special one-time return to the
membership,” said GSIWCF
Board of Trustees Chairman
and McDuffie County Commis
sioner Frederick Favors. "This
is an excellent example of one of
the many benefits of participat
ing in county-owned insurance
programs that are administered
by ACCG.”
Counties have the flexibility
to use this funding as needed;
however, ACCG encourages
counties to consider investing
at least a portion of this special
one-time return to implement
programs or practices that can
reduce the number and sever
ity of future accidents. In turn,
this can potentially lower future
workers’ compensation premi
ums as insurance premiums are
impacted by the claims history.
“The ACCG does an excellent
job in acting on behalf of its
member counties, thus saving
local taxpayers millions of dol
lars each year,” stated County
Administrator Merv Waldrop.
Chairman Wayne Crockett add
ed that he "has not seen a more
effective organization than the
ACCG.”
Although ACCG - GSIWCF
has returned a dividend 27 times
over the life of the program
- and every year since 1996 -
the dividend has historically
been returned in the form of a
premium credit. A $3.75 mil
lion dividend was distributed
statewide as a premium credit
in January 2016. The premium
credit is beneficial to the mem
bership as it reduces annual
premium costs. The special
one-time return is being offered
as the result of eliminating one
of the program’s money manag
ers. It is not intended to replace
the premium credit, which will
continue to be evaluated on an
annual basis.
ACCG provides workers’
compensation insurance to
more Georgia county govern
ments than all other insurers
combined and manages assets
of approximately $219 million.
Since 1985, the program has
returned more than $60 million
in the form of premium credits.
Representative Barry Fleming (R- 121)
receives 2016 Legislative Service Award
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FINANCIAL FOCUS
What Can Investors Learn from
Roller Coaster Rides?
If you have an interest in looking up obscure holidays
and celebrations, you will find that August 16th is
National Roller Coaster Day. As you know, a roller
coaster is used as a metaphor for many areas of life -
including the financial markets. As an investor, what can you learn from
this thrill ride? Here are a few suggestions:
• Don’t jump off. This is pretty standard advice for all roller coaster riders
- but it’s also a good recommendation for investors. Specifically, you
don’t want to exit the financial markets when they turn volatile. It can be
tempting to do so, because the markets do indeed experience dizzying
drops from time to time. But if you jump out of the markets when they’re
down, you may be on the outside when they start their climb, potentially
missing out on gains.
• Protect yourself. When you’re on a roller coaster, you are typically
advised to keep your arms and legs inside the car to protect your
extremities from dangerous contact with the track and other cars. As an
investor, you also need to protect yourself from dangers such as a market
downturn. If you owned just one type of asset, such as aggressive growth
stocks, and a downturn occurred, you’d likely take a big hit. One of the
best ways to help avoid this possibility is to diversify your holdings among
stocks, bonds and other investments. Although diversification can’t
guarantee a profit or protect against losses, it can help reduce the impact
of volatility on your portfolio.
• Keep looking forward. When you’re on a roller coaster, you don’t want
to look backward. Not only could you strain your neck, but you’ll also be
unprepared for the ups, downs, twists and turns that await you. When
you invest, you want to keep looking forward as well. By keeping your
eyes, and your focus, on your long-term goals, such as a comfortable
retirement, you can be better prepared to follow a consistent strategy
designed to help get you to your destination.
ACCG, Georgia’s county
association, recently honored
Rep. Barry Fleming (R-121)
with a 2016 Legislative Ser
vice Award.
Rep. Fleming, whose dis
trict includes Columbia,
McDuffie and Richmond
counties, currently serves as
a subcommittee chairman for
the House Judiciary Com
mittee. He is a member of
the Governmental Affairs,
Industry and Labor and Rules
committees.
ACCG presented the award
to Rep. Fleming at the Burke
County Board of Commission
ers meeting on Aug. 9.
“ACCG is proud to recognize
this year’s Legislative Ser
vice Award recipients for their
devoted service to Georgia’s
counties,” said ACCG Execu
tive Director Ross King. "Their
efforts are a true reflection of
government working collabora-
tively for the overall benefit of
Fleming for sponsoring HB
547, a bill that resulted in a
significant change for coun
ties regarding the way unpaid
property taxes of a surviving
spouse are collected as a part
of year's support (the right to
inherit property).
Rep. Fleming also played a
key role in addressing ACCG’s
concerns on numerous other
bills both in committee and on
the House floor. ACCG and
its membership applaud such
collaborative and exemplary
leadership exhibited by their
counterparts in state govern
ment.
“ACCG is thankful to Rep.
Fleming for his work on HB
547,” said ACCG Legislative
Director Clint Mueller. “HB 547
is an important piece of legisla
tion that will ultimately benefit
Georgia’s taxpayers.”
• Don’t bring extra baggage. For obvious reasons, it’s not a good idea to
bring any loose or extra baggage inside a roller coaster car that may
have you going upside down at 90 or so miles per hour. As an investor,
you don’t want to be saddled with any extra “baggage,” either - and one
of the biggest sources of this baggage is unrealistic expectations. If you
think you will earn double-digit returns every year, you will likely be
disappointed - and your disappointment could lead you to make unwise
decisions, such as constantly buying and selling investments to improve
your performance. This type of activity is expensive, time-consuming
and usually futile. So, when you invest, maintain realistic expectations -
it can help you stay on track toward your goals.
By following these basic guidelines for roller coasters, you’ll enjoy a
safer ride. And by observing similar rules for investing, you can help
make your investment “journey” smoother - and less scary.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward
Jones Financial Advisor.