NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city will see a reduction in its property and casualty insurance costs following a driving safety course conducted with 21 members of the Fire Department.

Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, the city's property and casualty insurance provider, offered the training free of charge as a membership benefit. Upon completion of this and other MIIA training programs, the city is eligible to receive insurance premium credits through the MIIA Rewards Programs.

North Adams Fire Department members participated in the driving safety simulator course during the week June 6. The state-of-the-art, computer-driven simulator realistically replicates more than 150 driving conditions that operators of police cruisers, fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles may encounter, including snow, rain, fog and darkness. In addition, the course includes one-on-one training for fire, police and other public safety employees on emergency procedures and safe driving techniques. According to MIIA's statistics, there is an average of 10 to 25 percent reduction in accident frequency and costs following the driving safety course.

In fiscal 2010, more than 4,000 municipal employees participated in more than 180 MIIA sponsored no-cost loss prevention and risk management programs. Their efforts yielded more than $2 million of premium credit collectively to the membership, for an eight-year Rewards program total of $12 million.

The Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association is the non-profit insurance arm of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. As a member-based organization, MIIA's only focus is to provide excellent service and quality risk management solutions to Massachusetts municipalities and related public entities. Municipal insurance its only business, MIIA insures nearly 400 cities, towns, and other public entities in Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.emiia.org and www.mma.org.