May Compliance Coffee Talk: What makes a strong risk program, according to a TPA?

Compliance Coffee Talk covers a new topic each month – RSVP for the series.

May:  “What separates the strongest risk programs from the rest, from a TPA who sees dozens?” 

Tracy Berry (Sedgwick, pooling/TPA for five California public-sector pools, with a deep commercial-construction subcontractor background) walked through what separates strong risk programs from weak ones, how to handle vendor pushback and limited vendor pools, how to get more out of a TPA/JPA relationship, and a string of practical, very California-flavored examples — drone shows, ice rinks, nuclear verdicts, and sudden limb drop from trees.

The throughline was proactivity: get your documents current, get your requirements into the RFP before bid, and assume that if something can go wrong, eventually it will.

Watch the full replay, or keep scrolling for a summary of some of the key insights and practical tips from the session.

Meet the Expert

• Tracy Berry: Contracts Manager, Pooling @ Sedgwick Risk & Claims TPA

We’ll discuss:

If you’ve ever wondered how your risk program stacks up against the cities, counties, and special districts down the road — this session is for you.  How does my program compare? Are we missing what other cities are catching? Are we defensible if a claim or audit comes tomorrow?

Tracy Berry has spent her career on every side of public sector risk — risk manager, broker, OCIP overseer, and now contracts manager for one of the largest TPAs serving public sector pools.  She sees the patterns across dozens of agencies that most risk managers never get to compare. She’ll tell us what the strongest programs do, what the weakest ones miss, and what’s changing fastest in 2026.

Then we’ll jump into questions and specific scenarios from attendees.  If you’ve got questions or scenarios, you can send them in ahead of time to john.rote@evidentid.com, or just ask live during the session.

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Key Takeaways

You’ve gotta listen for the real insights, but if you just want a cheat sheet, here are some of our takeaways from the session.

1. Cynicism is a feature, not a bug.

The strongest risk managers assume bad things eventually happen and plan accordingly, rather than hoping their program never gets tested.

“I always say it doesn’t happen until it happens… my strongest risk managers don’t live with rose-colored glasses on.”

2. Occasionally accepting more risk is okay — consciously, case by case, never as a habit.

Weigh the exposure, document it, and keep a close eye on the vendor.

“You always go in and say, we are not going to bend our well-thought-out risk assessment requirements to a vendor. But sometimes we do get our back against the wall… Consciously, you take on a higher level of responsibility as the city — but you don’t make that a habit. It happens, you just have to address this on a case-by-case basis. What is the risk level coming in? How much am I taking on as the city or public agency? Can I do it this one time? Do I keep a real close eye on my vendor? You have to weigh these things out.”

3. Work upstream of the attorney.

Clearing the insurance section first lets legal focus on the law and speeds approvals.

4. Improving a TPA/JPA relationship starts with naming the gap — in writing, professionally.

Route it through the JPA board/executive committee that holds the contract. Be ready for it to come down to price and prioritizing tradeoffs.

“You need to start telling them: we like Fred over here, he’s great, but I just think we could get somebody that does a little more for us. These are our needs, this is what is not being met. If you can create an outline or something… you need to start working through that Pool/JPA’s executive committee and board on who they contract with… The only way, as a member — you are a member and you’re a paying member — is to voice your needs that are not quite being met. And if you can do that with your boards in your Pool/JPA, that’s the best place to start, because the JPA is the one that’s contracted with that TPA.””

5. Nuclear verdicts have reset the baseline.

Waivers are weaker than people think, courts apply “should have known,” and limits need to keep pace.

“We’ve got nuclear verdicts where they aren’t even looking at city evidence — they’re just ruling in favor of plaintiffs.”

6. Get insurance/risk requirements into the RFP, every time.

Vendors can only price umbrellas, excess, or project-specific policies if they know upfront. Surfacing it post-bid creates delay and friction.

“I’m a proponent of everything being addressed pre-pricing or pre-bid — every time, or within your RFP.”

7. The biggest education gap with non-risk colleagues: policies don’t “cross over.”

Each policy covers specific perils; teaching the basics lets procurement/ops field simple vendor questions directly.

“You can’t expect the average person to understand why we have these separate types of policies, and that they cover specific perils.  You’ve got to explain that, you’ve got to train your colleagues.”

8. An emerging trend:  new activities bring new exposures.

Drone shows need aviation coverage and clear flight-path answers; vet novel attractions (rinks, inflatables) carefully — and know when to just say no.

“There’s a lot of different things going on now, especially with activities for the community… these ideas are coming up, and you really, as a city agency, need to evaluate what could happen in these situations…  The courts look at it like the city should have known. You’re responsible because you should have known.”

8. Any final advice?  What’s your top-message advice? 

Once again, it’s all about proactivity.

“Think ahead. Be proactive and preemptive. Use forethought and don’t be afraid of the hard stuff. If you’re [in] risk long enough, something major is going to happen — so walk through it with grace as best you can.”

That’s all for now, but there’s a lot more in the recording.

Join us next month.  As always, let us know if there are topics or questions you’d like to see covered in future sessions.