Mission & Responsibilities
The Middlesex County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund, commonly referred to as MCMJIF, has been serving our members with distrinction since 1986 based on a consistent, four-pillar strategy that continues to benefit our members through reduced premiums and better service to government employees who may become injured on the job.
Our Four Pillars for Success:
Efficiency: The MCMJIF is a careful fiscal steward of the taxpayer dollars that are used to provide quality insurance for our government members. The MCMJIF spends only where it must, in accordance with the strictest standards. MCMJIF invests in providing services that drive down the cost of insurance for members, while ensuring quality service to workers. There is no waste.
Risk Management: No one is more proactive in identifying, analyzing, and mitigating potential threat. MCMJIF board members and staff expertly anticipate what could go wrong and take steps to minimize the impact. MCMJIF deploys a three-step process: recognizing potential risk, assessing severity and developing strategies to either avoid the risk, reduce its impact, or use insurance to transfer the burden away from taxpayers.
Fiscal Discipline: MCMJIF embraces responsible financial management, ensuring spending aligns with income. Fiscal discipline fosters long-term stability for the MCMJIF. It reduces debt reliance, prevents financial strain, and prepares for unexpected circumstances. For our members, it keeps spending in check, paving the way for financial well-being and a stabilized property tax rate.
Expansion: By steadily expanding the MCMJIF, it becomes a stronger entity. More members allows for the MCMJIF to offer more services designed to reduce risk for all, while saving even more in taxpayer dollars.
Our History:
MCMJIF was granted permission to operate by the State of New Jersey effective August 6, 1986. Its original eight members consisted of the following Middlesex County municipalities: Highland Park, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, South Amboy, South Brunswick, Plainsboro and Spotswood. As a result of a comprehensive feasibility study and sound actuarial projections, municipal officials decided that it was in the taxpayers' best interest to join together to form a self insurance pool as permitted by legislation. In 1987, the MCMJIF expanded its territorial operation to Monmouth, Somerset, and Union counties. In 1994, the MCMJIF again expanded to include any local governmental unit in New Jersey.
These members, having achieved excellent loss histories individually and collectively over the past years, understand that the primary method of reducing the cost of risk is through effective safety and loss control programs.
The secondary method of controlling cost is through an effectively administered claims adjustment program. As such, the MCMJIF provides its members with in-house claims administration, and employs a staff with vast experience in handling claims against public entities. This team provides MCMJIF members expansive safety and loss control services.
Sound Risk Management practice dictates that the MCMJIF retain as much risk as actuarially feasible. In accordance with regulations, the MCMJIF retains the expected losses in each coverage category. In regard to Workers Compensation coverage, participants have their assessment allocated according to the mandatory merit rating system on file with the New Jersey Commissioner of Banking and Insurance as required by regulation N.J.A.C. 11:15-2.
