Frank Cowan offering road reviews, service to help insured municipalities manage their largest exposure

Frank Cowan Company is offering insured Ontario municipalities road reviews, the latest addition to the company’s suite of complimentary value-added services, to help municipalities mitigate road liability frequency and severity.

“Motor vehicle accidents and road liability incidents have a large impact on loss ratios which can translate into higher insurance premiums,” reports Larry Ryan, president of Canadian general managing agent, Frank Cowan Company.

“If we can help municipalities improve road conditions by removing or reducing hazards, we can actively help them manage their largest exposure,” Ryan notes in a statement from the company.

Related: Ontario court ruling helps clarify municipalities’ legal obligations to motorists: lawyer

Available at no cost, the road review service is being managed by Brian Anderson, a municipal roads consultant with 42 years of experience building, maintaining and managing provincial and municipal roads.

Municipal clients have access to the following consulting services: adequacy of documentation; compliance to the Ontario Traffic Manual; compliance to minimum maintenance standards; adequacy of current policies and procedures; and a review of select road segments, with a focus on stopping sight distances, required edge lines and obstacles within the clear zone.

Most municipalities “don’t have the budget to hire a consultant and, with an increase in road claim frequency and severity, it’s a service that can help them immensely,” Barb Szychta, vice president of risk management services for Frank Cowan Company, suggests in the statement.

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