Oklahoma also has a shared services agreement with NRCS where we have district technicians paid 75% with federal funds. This issue of liability came up a couple years ago and we rolled them into our district liability policy that the agency carries on behalf of districts. This came about when the state determined that conservation districts are not covered by State Tort and it was necessary for us to have liability coverage for them as sponsors of upstream flood control sites, public officials & management liability, commercial general liability and hired / not owned vehicles. This year our coverage is with Allied Public Risk, LLC out of Pennsylvania. Shoot me an email, I would be happy to share with you our broker information if you would like to explore this further.

This is an issue we're trying to work through in Vermont. Right now, districts have differing approaches to liability coverage, but in many cases, use of NRCS vehicles is an uncovered liability. We've had two incidents of district employees getting into accidents in NRCS vehicles in recent years, and in both cases, the district paid "out of pocket" for the repairs, since neither NRCS nor the district's own organizational insurance covered the damage. We recently confirmed with the state that conservation districts here can be treated as if they were state agencies for the purposes of insurance coverage, so we're working to get state coverage in place for general liability, public officials, etc. However, we've run into a technical barrier around extending that state coverage to the vehicle situation. Currently, the our state Agency of Administration isn't sure how to set a price for the premium or structure the coverage language. I can follow up if we get that figured out!

Hi Marsha -

Our districts are all member of a Risk Management pool made up of various local government entities and special purpose districts, including conservation districts.  It is called Enduris - Welcome to Enduris.  Districts pay to be members and premiums are based on coverages but they cover vehicle liabilities, property insurance, basic bonding, etc.  Not sure if that's helpful but it's how things are working in our state.

I have a write up on this topic, however....it is outdated (provided in 2019 I believe), but it really helped outline things for our districts. Specifically the section below. The original list is quite lengthy, but this gave our CDs something to do to their insurance agents with to help them navigate. We really need to get updated information, and it's a constant struggle that we try to navigate (help, but also stay out of per our attorney). Please share if you find anything helpful (or newer)!

• The District will immediately report all vehicle accidents and traffic violations to NRCS and complete all required documents to report accidents.  The District will reimburse NRCS or pay an auto repair Company directly for any and all repairs to the GOV as a result of an accident caused by the District operator and pay all traffic violation citations.

• The District will obtain automobile insurance at a minimum rate of coverage of at least $200,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and $20,000 per occurrence for property damage.  The District will also maintain comprehensive and collision coverage.  The District will furnish a copy of insurance certificate or evidence of adequate self-insurance to Grants Management Specialist prior to use.

• The District will assume responsibility for tort claims arising from accidents caused by District Drivers.  The District will be responsible for receiving, processing, and paying tort claims that are submitted due to an accident caused by a District driver. 

• The District will notify the NRCS immediately of any loss, theft, or damage to a GOV, GOV license plates, or fleet cards. 

• The District will comply with NRCS requirements concerning use of telematics devices that may be installed on GOVs. 

• It is prohibited for individuals other than federal employees or District employees performing official NRCS business under this agreement to ride as passengers in GOVs.  Any other passengers must be approved through the passenger approval process described in NRCS vehicle policy.   
• The technical contact for the District will work with NRCS with fulfilling the terms and conditions of this attachment at the local level.

• The use of GOVs may be suspended or revoked by NRCS, if it determines that corrective action is needed to meet the provisions of this attachment.

I have a write up on this topic, however….it is outdated (provided in 2019 I believe), but it really helped outline things for our districts. Specifically the section below. The original list is quite lengthy, but this gave our CDs something to do to their insurance agents with to help them navigate. We really need to get updated information, and it’s a constant struggle that we try to navigate (help, but also stay out of per our attorney). Please share if you find anything helpful (or newer)!

• The District will immediately report all vehicle accidents and traffic violations to NRCS and complete all required documents to report accidents. The District will reimburse NRCS or pay an auto repair Company directly for any and all repairs to the GOV as a result of an accident caused by the District operator and pay all traffic violation citations.
• The District will obtain automobile insurance at a minimum rate of coverage of at least $200,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and $20,000 per occurrence for property damage. The District will also maintain comprehensive and collision coverage. The District will furnish a copy of insurance certificate or evidence of adequate self-insurance to Grants Management Specialist prior to use.
• The District will assume responsibility for tort claims arising from accidents caused by District Drivers. The District will be responsible for receiving, processing, and paying tort claims that are submitted due to an accident caused by a District driver.
•  The District will notify the NRCS immediately of any loss, theft, or damage to a GOV, GOV license plates, or fleet cards.
•  The District will comply with NRCS requirements concerning use of telematics devices that may be installed on GOVs.
• It is prohibited for individuals other than federal employees or District employees performing official NRCS business under this agreement to ride as passengers in GOVs. Any other passengers must be approved through the passenger approval process described in NRCS vehicle policy.
• The technical contact for the District will work with NRCS with fulfilling the terms and conditions of this attachment at the local level.
• The use of GOVs may be suspended or revoked by NRCS, if it determines that corrective action is needed to meet the provisions of this attachment.

Bullet #2:   FYI - Our districts have been told they cannot get auto insurance on a vehicle they do not own.