As part of IPSSA's Techs-4-Techs Support, Sick Route Coverage is provided to help protect members from losing valuable weekly service accounts and revenue, in the event of a qualifying personal injury or illness. Members will band together to provide emergency coverage of all or a portion of a service route, helping to maintain the route and protect a fellow member’s livelihood. This coverage is (by necessity) limited in scope and is intended for use as a “safety net” only in the event of legitimate illness, injury or emergency. So, for a few dollars’ worth of chemicals, plus a small amount of time, IPSSA members get the most inexpensive income protection plan available.
For service techs looking to join an association that gives them this extremely valuable benefit, it’s important to understand how IPSSA's Sick Route Coverage works. To begin with, service techs must first join an IPSSA chapter. After six-months of membership, if an IPSSA member gets injured or sick, the chapter members will divide the sick/injured member's pool route among the group and will service all the pools on the route while the sick/injured member is recovering, at no charge! Conversely, if a chapter member gets injured or sick, other chapter members are required to service their pools in return. Some may think: “Why would I let strangers service my pools?” The answer is easy! All IPSSA members maintain liability insurance and are qualified by the association having passed a standardized water chemistry exam or approved pool/spa certification program. In addition, IPSSA provides ongoing education opportunities for all members at their monthly meetings to ensure all techs are aware of the latest problems, solutions and technologies available to solve pool and spa servicing needs.
IPSSA’s Sick Route Coverage provides a formalized plan from what originally came about as a service tech community response to helping fellow IPSSA members. IPSSA is an association that is very much a supportive community that helps one another. In fact, in some chapters have expanded the ways in which the IPSSA Sick Route Coverage Plan is used including providing support for members during maternity/ paternal leave, and special short vacation leaves like a honeymoon after a marriage. Service techs looking for a supportive community organization that will protect you from income loss, then joining IPSSA is the best association in our industry to join.
Contact your local IPSSA Chapter President to find out more information on how your chapter utilizes Sick Route Coverage.