One of the companies that provides professional liability insurance for wildland firefighters has now expanded their coverage to include AD (Administratively Determined) employees. This is big news for the AD firefighters out there. The cost is $270 a year, the same as for a regular government firefighter.
Here is some information from a news release by the company, Federal Employee Defense Services.
“Federal Employee Defense Services (FEDS) has recently determined that personnel hired under the Pay Plan for Emergency Workers (AD Pay Plan) are considered “federal employees” for purposes of eligibility for benefits and membership in the FEDS program.
Through our relationships with such organizations as the Federal Wildland Fire Service Association (FWFSA), AD Firefighters Association, Wildlandfire.com and other groups and individuals involved with federal wildland fire fighting, we learned about a group of individuals called ADs who were hired by federal agencies to support the federal government’s wildland fire fighting mission. We received many inquiries as to whether these individuals would be eligible for liability protection under the FEDs program.
We have determined that individuals who are hired under the Pay Plan for Emergency Workers (AD Pay Plan) are eligible for membership under FEDS. Eligibility for benefits under FEDS, however, is limited to those instances when you are performing a federal function under the direction and control of a federal agency (i.e. within the scope of federal employment and are an employee under 5 U.S.C. 2105(a)). Accordingly, we at FEDS are happy to continue our support of the federal wildland fire fighting community by extending our coverage to ADs in this regard. When signing up on line at www.fedsprotection.com simply select AD Pay Plan when asked to identify the federal agency for which you work.”
