Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Insurance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Atlantic JIF director tells Millville commission safety programs can curb insurance assessments
Summary
The Atlantic County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund reviewed Millville's claims performance, explained coverage and loss-ratio metrics, and urged the commission to use JIF safety and risk-management programs to control future assessments and reduce claims.
Paul Fenz, executive director of the Atlantic County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund (JIF), told the Millville City Commission on May 29 that the joint-insurance model and local safety programs have saved taxpayers “millions of dollars” and remain Millville’s best tool to control future insurance costs.
Fenz reviewed the GIF structure and coverages — workers’ compensation, general liability, auto, property, cyber, environmental impairment and employment-practices/public-officials liability — and said Millville joined the Atlantic GIF on April 1, 1998. He said the fund uses a six-year rolling loss ratio to smooth year-to-year volatility and that Millville has paid out about $0.88 on each dollar contributed over the last six years, roughly in line with the GIF average.
The director noted several drivers of rising assessments: exposure growth (payroll and property values), expanding coverages such as cyber and environmental liability, statutory changes (workers’ compensation re-openers, higher temporary-total-disability rates), social inflation and larger, more frequent storm losses. He said the GIF’s overall cash and surplus positions remain strong — noting dividends and surplus returned to members — while urging the commission to use available risk-management services.
Fenz recommended concrete steps Millville can take to reduce claims costs: faster claims reporting (the JIF benchmark is three days; Millville was reported near that target), continued use of transitional-duty programs to return injured workers to limited duty, active participation in on-site loss-control surveys, and use of JIF training resources such as the MEL Safety Institute and online streaming modules. He also encouraged commissioner participation in subcommittees and the GIF’s executive committee to influence programs and policy.
Commissioners asked about repricing; the presenter said members are repriced every three years and the GIF does not cancel members for poor performance but works with them to improve outcomes. The presentation closed with a reminder that unspent GIF funds are returned to members as dividends.
