Key Takeaways

  • HR and Risk teams influence many of the same outcomes. When they work together, organizations can reduce exposures, prevent costly mistakes, and improve overall risk management.
  • Knowing your insurance coverage is just as important as knowing the premium. Understanding policy terms and legal frameworks like the Texas Tort Claims Act helps municipalities make better decisions before and after incidents occur.
  • Workers’ compensation costs often grow when claims linger without a clear plan. Early coordination on return-to-work strategies, accommodations, and transitional duties can significantly reduce long-term expenses.
  • A strong safety culture requires visible leadership and consistent employee engagement. Organizations that invest in safety programs often see fewer claims, lower insurance costs, and better workforce outcomes.

The Need for HR and Risk to Align

I had the privilege of presenting at this year’s McAllen Risk and Safety Expo, and as I reflected on the event, I kept coming back to one theme: the people responsible for human resources and the people managing risk and insurance are doing more of the same job than most organizations realize.

In my session, “Bridging HR and Risk: What You Didn’t Know You Needed to Know,” I touched on Texas municipalities and how these two functions are often siloed—different departments, different reporting lines, different vocabularies. Yet every hiring decision carries liability, every training gap is a potential claim, and every policy either protects the city or leaves it exposed.

When HR and Risk aren’t talking to each other, that silence has a price.

The Question Every Coverage Holder Should Be Asking

“Do you know what your policy says, or do you only know the price?”

This simple question kicked off my presentation. It lands differently in person than it does on paper because for most of us, the answer is closer to the second option.

We know the renewal number and we know which broker to call, but the actual language inside those policies? The exclusions, the conditions, the notice requirements? That’s where things get fuzzy.

My session walked through the core coverage lines that Texas public entities need to understand:

  • Workers’ Compensation (WC)
  • General Liability
  • Employment Practices Liability
  • Cyber
  • Property
  • Auto

This isn’t an insurance lecture—my goal is always helping HR and risk professionals understand what they’re actually working with. Because how you manage an incident, document a claim, or respond to a notice of loss, has everything to do with what your risk management strategy and coverage will do for you.

The Texas Tort Claims Act Is Not Optional Reading

If you work in Texas local government HR and you haven’t spent real time with the Texas Tort Claims Act (TTCA), this is your sign.

The TTCA is the framework that defines when a municipality can and cannot be sued, and it has direct implications for how HR functions need to operate.

The TTCA liability caps are numbers you need to know:

  • $250,000 per person
  • $500,000 per occurrence for bodily injury
  • $100,000 for property damage

When a municipal vehicle is involved in an accident, hazardous conditions on city property causes an injury, or a motor-driven piece of equipment causes damage, the city can be held responsible. That means HR’s role in driver screening, operator qualification documentation, and hazard reporting systems aren’t just good practice—it’s risk mitigation in a very direct and legal sense.

The WC Limbo Zone is a Budget Problem, Not Just a Claim Problem

Workers’ compensation claims don’t become costly overnight. They become costly because of what happens (or doesn’t happen) in the months after the initial injury.

Welcome to the “WC Limbo Zone:” the stretch from months two through six when the employee isn’t fully recovered, isn’t yet at maximum medical improvement, FMLA has run out, and the city is making increasingly expensive decisions without necessarily realizing it.

If you have an essential position like a patrol officer, firefighter, or utility crew member, and that seat is empty for months, you’re not just managing a claim—you’re covering mandatory shifts at overtime rates.

Under HB 471, first responders injured in the line of duty are entitled to full salary continuation, which means the city is covering the gap between what workers’ comp pays (70% of average weekly wage) and full pay for up to a year. And all the while, the open claim is building reserves that will drive your experience modifier up, locking in a premium increase that hits every department citywide and stays elevated for three policy years after the claim closes.

One example I shared involved a rotator cuff injury at a parks department. Direct medical costs, salary continuation, temporary staffing, overtime, and the three-year insurance premium impact added well over $113,000 on a $50,000-per-year position. That’s not an outlier. That’s what happens when a claim drifts.

The intervention point is before month six. You can cut your exposure by more than half by:

  • Getting the ADA interactive process started
  • Evaluating transitional duty options
  • Having a documented return-to-work plan in place

But this requires HR and Risk to be communicating with each other from day one of the claim, not once the situation has already compounded.

Building a Safety Culture that Sticks

The second half of my session focused on what it looks like to build a risk and safety culture that isn’t just a binder on a shelf. The honest answer is that risk and safety culture starts at the top—with the opportunity to be strengthened by a trusted partner—and it has to be visible.

Leadership commitment isn’t a checkbox, it means senior officials are present at safety meetings, not just sponsoring them. It means when an employee reports a hazard, something actually happens and they know it happened.

Recognition and reward systems for safety contributions matter more than most organizations give them credit for because the behavior you encourage is the behavior you’ll see more of.

The numbers support the investment. A well-implemented safety program—an actual one with training, feedback loops, and cross-functional accountability—can reduce workers’ comp claims by 20% or more, cut insurance premiums meaningfully, and generate compounding returns through reduced turnover, productivity gains, and avoid incident costs. Houston’s safety program generates over $1.5 million in combined annual savings. This is just one example that the math on prevention almost always wins.

A Strong Partnership Between HR and Risk Saves Money and Lives

What I wanted people to leave the event with is this: the wall between HR and Risk isn’t protecting either department. It’s creating blind spots that cost real money, and more importantly, result in real harm to the people who work for these communities.

When HR understands coverage, Risk understands the employment law landscape, and both functions are built into the claims management conversation, municipalities stop reacting and start managing. That’s when the budget line for risk stops climbing and starts making sense.

At Charlesworth Consulting, we help municipalities navigate the complexities of insurance and manage risk so you can focus on what matters most: your people. If you’re ready to give risk the boot, reach out today to connect with our team.