Jessica Burnham is Warren County’s new Director of Warren County Department of Self Insurance, an important agency that few outside of local government likely realize exists.
Warren County and most of the towns in the county are self-insured together for Workers’ Compensation claims, and the Self Insurance Department oversees Workers’ Comp insurance for nearly 3,000 government workers with municipalities, at SUNY Adirondack and staff with first responder agencies such as fire departments and rescue squads.
Workers’ Comp is just part of what the department does, though. The three-person staff also coordinates property and casualty insurance for Warren County, oversees the county Safety Committee, organizes trainings for government workers around the county and handles disability benefits.
“We’re kind of like a catch-all department when it comes to insurance and safety,” Jessica explained. “We put on safety trainings for all of the towns. We also organize Highway Safety Days for highway workers all over Warren County.”
(This year’s Highway Safety Days event will be held in May at Warren County Fairgrounds.)
Jessica was recently promoted to Director of Self Insurance to replace Amy Clute, who retired in January after 35 years with Warren County.
Jessica came to Warren County in 2012 from a job in the private sector, working on workers’ compensation cases. She said her 12 years working with Amy Clute on the agency’s diverse workload prepared her for her new role.
Jessica said: "I am excited for the opportunity to lead the Self Insurance Department. Warren County is a great place to work and I look forward to developing positive working relationships with my colleagues as I enter this new role. Our department’s mission has always been to provide timely and proper Workers’ Compensation and NYS short-term disability benefits to employees. We try our best to provide effective safety training to all employees to ensure each employee goes home safe at the end of each day."