Middlesex County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund Commissioners Focus on Expansion in ’24
NEW BRUNSWICK – As the prime objective of local government is to provide the highest quality of essential services at the most economic cost, many public entities are involved in “Joint Insurance Funds.” These “JIFs” provide liability and property damage insurance for government entities through a self-insurance program.
JIFs are a niche offering; they require experts who understand insurance risk as it relates to workplace safety and marry that knowledge with a studied approach to ever-changing conditions in the insurance market. This ongoing assessment ensures that JIF members receive the highest quality coverage program at the best possible cost.
To best meet the JIF’s needs, the Middlesex County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund’s (MCMJIF) Board of Commissioners has retained a seasoned team of professional insurance administrators to provide even better service while advancing rigorous financial practices.
Now with a robust leadership team in place, the Commissioners are working on recruiting more members, highlighting risk management and loss control services as well as employee safety programs and other tangible benefits that make the MCMJIF a standout.
“As an initial priority, our newly-enhanced team is assessing improved ways in which to stabilize members’ insurance premiums for the long-term,” said Harry Delgado, chairman of the MCMJIF Board of Commissioners.
“The members of the MCMJIF are drawn to us because we offer a solid product that continually drives down costs for taxpayers, year after year,” Delgado explained. “To ensure a steady and predictable future – the key objectives to anyone involved in insurance – we need to continually assess the JIF and ensure we provide a quality level of insurance at a price that public entities can’t secure elsewhere.”
That is why the MCMJIF board is conducting a top-down review of all services offered, as well as reviewing the offerings of its vendors that help reduce premiums. The JIF wants to ensure, for example, that it provides the industry’s best safety training for employees, as well as expertly service all claims so that injuries and property damage can be addressed before they become more significant.
“The MCMJIF is fortunate to be a well-established entity that works with a number of long-term vendors who share institutional knowledge of the entire operation and compassionately serve injured employees,” Delgado said. “It is crucial for a successful JIF to have this backbone, as well as a proactive board that understands how a JIF can succeed. The MCMJIF has these consistent assets as it plans for the future.”
He added the MCMJIF’s “differentiator” is its reputation for cutting costs to taxpayers, while focusing on employee wellness. It is done in many ways, such as immediately addressing any workplace injury so that long-term care is not needed, offering proactive and relevant safety trainings throughout the year and serving as a key resource to expand healthy living initiatives.
Helping the MCMJIF meets its goals for 2024 is the newly-appointed executive director, Barbara Murphy, one of the statewide leaders in JIF management. Murphy will fill the role that was held for many years by William Kurtz, now retired.
“We are pleased to retain the institutional knowledge and know-how of the current staff as we appoint Ms. Murphy to advance the recharged vision for the organization that the commissioners have set for the coming years,” Delgado said.
Murphy, managing several JIFs since May 1996 in New Jersey, is providing a veteran staff of six fiscal and insurance experts who now handle all major facets of the operation. The team is part of New Jersey Risk Managers and Consultants, LLC of Bridgewater, which Murphy owns. The client list currently includes several other JIFs in the state.
“We bring to the table all the expertise required to run a strong and stable JIF, such as experienced underwriters, claims administrators, finance experts and managers,” Murphy explained. “We are pleased to take over the MCMJIF management and revamp the multi-step processes, with the goal of fiscal soundness and future surplus year after year.”
Murphy explained that JIFs were among the original “shared services” between government entities, as municipalities pooled resources to save taxpayers money. Now, shared services are encouraged across all government operations; JIFs remain a tried-and-true solution for municipalities and other public entities joining together to lower costs.
Delgado said Murphy was selected as executive director based on her “encyclopedic knowledge” of JIFs and her history of generating steady fund surplus on behalf of taxpayers. She will lead the initiatives for 2024 to generate more members and identify value-adds for existing members.
“The MCMJIF remains a terrific resource for the public entities it has served over the years,” Delgado said. “By having Barbara and her team at the helm, we are fully confident the JIF can meet its stated objectives for the coming years. We have a very bright future and that begins with tackling the aggressive agenda we have established for 2024. Now’s the time to get to work.”
Learn more at mcmjif.com
