A representative of the Atlantic County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund (Atlantic JIF) presented a membership renewal briefing to the Somers Point City Council, describing market conditions, member services and recent financial returns.

The presenter said the insurance market has tightened, with property lines remaining elevated due to factors including an increase in natural-disaster events; the presenter stated there were 27 separate $1 billion events in the previous year and noted Somers Point’s coastal exposure as a specific risk. The representative said Atlantic JIF’s affiliation with the Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund (MEL) reduces premium costs when the JIF purchases excess coverage.

The presenter outlined member services available at reduced or no additional cost: training (managers and supervisors, police command staff and elected-officials training), a safety-director program with lost-control visits and safety bulletins, and an online training platform. The presenter said training correlated with lower lost-time accident frequency rates, citing a decline from 2.96 to 1.47 as member training expanded.

On employment-practices liability (EPL), the presenter said Atlantic JIF provides model policies updated every two years and an EPL helpline staffed by attorneys for real-time advice. The JIF also offers environmental coverage through an EJIF program that the presenter said includes storage-tank coverage, on-site cleanup costs and public-officials pollution-liability coverage. The presenter cited a named case (Amos v. Haddonfield) and said the JIF now offers stormwater-guidance services, including access to engineering and legal advice for three hours per member incident at no charge.

To address cyber risk, the presenter said Atlantic JIF and sister JIFs in Burlington, Gloucester and Cumberland counties ran an RFP for internal and external penetration testing; the presenter said those three JIFs were the only ones in the state offering that service to members and that members also have access to a technology risk service director to help with compliance.

On financials and dividends, the presenter said the Atlantic JIF had more than $13 million in surplus, $48 million in cash, and had returned $55.7 million to members historically; the presenter added Atlantic JIF returned $2 million last year and said the City of Somers Point had received a little over $1.5 million in dividends since joining the JIF. The presenter recommended that elected officials encourage municipal staff to participate in JIF loss-prevention programs to reduce risk and save taxpayer dollars. The representative concluded by inviting questions; no substantive questions were raised during the meeting.