What PERMA does

PERMA (Public Entity Risk Management Associates) is a risk management and insurance-administration firm founded in 1989 that serves New Jersey local governments through Joint Insurance Funds (JIFs). The firm administers 17 property and casualty JIFs, 10 health JIFs, and 8 county insurance commissions, serving 603 public-entity clients representing approximately 65% of New Jersey's local governments. PERMA's coverage footprint extends to municipalities, counties, school boards, and other public entities across the state.

PERMA's core offering is third-party administration of pooled public-entity insurance, in which municipalities combine risk to obtain broader coverage, scale-driven pricing, and shared loss reserves. Underlying capabilities include risk control consulting, claims management (delivered in part through an affiliated relationship with J.A. Montgomery Consulting), underwriting administration, and member-services support. In 2023 the firm launched the NJ Cyber Risk Management Fund, a pooled cyber-insurance vehicle that has already attracted 403 New Jersey municipalities. The combined annual budget of the Municipal Excess Liability (MEL) layer and affiliated JIFs is approximately $250 million, and PERMA's documented taxpayer savings exceed $4 billion through its P&C programs and $1 billion through employee benefits programs.

PERMA earns revenue through management fees averaging 2.7% of total program cost — reportedly the lowest among JIF administrators in the United States versus an industry standard closer to 5.1% — supplemented by affiliated-service revenue from J.A. Montgomery Consulting and, since 2007, a broader platform created through its merger with Conner Strong & Buckelew. The go-to-market is a captive public-sector distribution model: PERMA is the de facto administrator of choice for NJ local-government insurance pools, with 554 of 603 clients (92%) retained for 10+ years.

Name

PERMA

Legal name

PERMA Risk Management Services

Website

https://permainc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PERMA provides risk management, insurance administration, and claims services to New Jersey local governments through Joint Insurance Funds, covering approximately 65% of the state's municipalities and public entities across 603 clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Parsippany

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. JIF Administration and Management Fees: PERMA earns management fees for administering Joint Insurance Funds. Their management fees average only 2.7% of total cost as compared to 5.1% for all other New Jersey JIFs. The MEL and its affiliated JIFs have an annual budget of $250 million.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PERMA Risk Management Services administers Joint Insurance Funds (JIFs) for New Jersey municipalities, counties, authorities, and boards of education, delivering property & casualty coverage, health benefits, environmental liability, cyber liability, and excess insurance through a pooled self-insurance structure. It also provides risk control, safety training, claims management oversight, and regulatory compliance support to its public-sector clients, charging management fees averaging 2.7% of total program cost.

Product overview

PERMA is a risk management services company that administers Joint Insurance Funds (JIFs) for New Jersey municipalities and local governments. The company operates a multi-layered product architecture consisting of: (1) Property & Casualty JIFs including the core MEL (Municipal Excess Liability) providing excess insurance to 19 local JIFs, the E-JIF for environmental coverage, the CEL for county coverage, and the Cyber JIF for cybersecurity insurance; (2) Health Insurance Funds (HIFs) - nine health insurance pools covering over 200,000 individuals; and (3) Risk management services including claims management, safety training through the Safety Institute (training 70,000+ workers annually), employment practices programs, and the Sustainable Energy Joint Meeting (SEM) cooperative. PERMA covers 65% of New Jersey municipalities with an annual budget of $250 million, helping save taxpayers over $4 billion through its programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund (MEL) Statewide excess insurance pool providing excess liability and related services to 19 local JIFs representing more than 65% of all local governments in New Jersey, with an annual budget of $250 million.
• NJ Municipal Environmental Risk Management Fund (E-JIF) Environmental liability joint insurance fund providing New Jersey public entities with what is described as the most comprehensive environmental coverage in the country.
• NJ Counties Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund (CEL) County-level insurance fund offering broad property & casualty coverage, currently insuring 10 New Jersey counties.
• NJ Cyber Risk Management Fund (Cyber JIF) Cyber insurance and comprehensive risk control fund serving 403 municipalities across New Jersey, founded in 2023 with 19 member JIFs.
• Municipal Excess Liability Residual Claims Fund (RCF) Statewide residual claims fund for managing residual claims from member JIFs.
• Local Property & Casualty Joint Insurance Funds 13 local P&C JIFs administered by PERMA including Bergen County, South Bergen, Camden County, Morris County, Ocean County, Monmouth, Suburban Metro, Suburban Municipal, Central Jersey, NJ Utility Authorities, NJ Housing Authority, and Professional Municipal Management, covering 65% of local governments in New Jersey.
• Health Insurance Funds (HIFs) Nine health insurance funds administered by PERMA providing healthcare benefits for more than 200,000 individuals, including Central Jersey Fund, Gateway BMED Fund, Municipal Reinsurance Fund, Northern New Jersey Health JIF, Schools Health Insurance Fund, Southern Coastal Fund, Southern Jersey Fund, and Metropolitan Health Insurance Fund.
• Municipal Reinsurance Health Insurance Fund (MR-HIF) Excess insurance coverage and services to 7 local Health Insurance Funds covering 171 local units and 137 Boards of Education; described as the largest health insurance pool of its type in the country and credited with over $1 billion in taxpayer savings.
• Claims Management Services Comprehensive claims program design, third-party claims administrator oversight, reporting procedures, fraud prevention, medical management, legal assignments, audit requirements, reserve analysis, and workers compensation control services for PERMA's public entity clients.
• Risk Control Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Saved NJ taxpayers over $4 billion through P&C JIF programs
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.

• J.A. Montgomery ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJ.A. Montgomery Consulting serves as the safety director for most JIFs administered by PERMA. They conduct over 1,250 onsite facility inspections annually, train over 70,000 workers each year, and produce customized risk control videos and online training programs. One-third of their staff are retired command police officers.
• NJ Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund (MEL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe MEL is a governmental entity that provides excess insurance and services to 19 local JIFs representing over 65% of all local governments in New Jersey. With an annual budget of $250 million, it's one of the largest governmental property & casualty risk pools in the country.
• Municipal Reinsurance Health Insurance Fund (MR-HIF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMR-HIF provides excess insurance coverage and services to 7 local Health Insurance Funds covering 171 local units and 137 Boards of Education. Largest health insurance pool of its type in the country, having saved taxpayers over $1 billion.
• Sustainable Energy Joint Meeting (SEM)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst statewide electric and natural gas cooperative for governmental entities in New Jersey. Formed in 2009, SEM has 209 members including 168 municipalities and has saved taxpayers $40 million.
• NJ Counties Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund (CEL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CEL began offering broad property & casualty coverage in 2010. Currently insures 10 counties and has saved taxpayers $85 million.
• Conner Strong & BuckelewcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPERMA merged with Conner Strong & Buckelew in 2007. The company is an affiliate that provides operational support including claims management and systems infrastructure.
• NJ Department of Community AffairscoreOthersDCA focuses on JIF compliance with laws concerning governmental operations including the Fiscal Affairs Act, Public Contracts Law, Local Government Officials Ethics Act, Open Public Meetings Act, and Open Public Records Act. Joint authority with DOBI on approval of JIF bylaws and Plans of Risk Management.
• NJ Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI)coreOthersDOBI is responsible for technical insurance-related regulation, requiring extensive annual filings including budgets, audit statements, contracts and insurance policies. Conducts examinations at PERMA's office for 4-5 months every 5 years.
• NJ State ControllercoreOthersJIFs must file contracts exceeding $2 million with the Controller and seek prior approval for contracts exceeding $10 million. All financial audit reports must be filed with the Controller's office.
• NJ Association of Chiefs of PolicenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPERMA led the development of a crossing guard safety training program in conjunction with the NJ Association of Chiefs of Police.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool: A governmental risk pool providing property, casualty, and workers' compensation coverage to Texas municipalities through an intergovernmental structure analogous to NJ JIFs. Comparable as a public-entity risk pool administrator serving local government members.
• PRISM (Public Risk Innovation, Solutions, and Management): California-based public entity risk pool providing property, liability, workers' comp, and employee benefits coverage to public agencies. Comparable to PERMA as a multi-line governmental risk pool serving municipalities and special districts at scale.
• New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal (NYSIR): Non-profit reciprocal insurer providing property and casualty coverage to New York school districts and Boards of Education. Comparable to PERMA in administering pooled risk coverage for public entities through a non-commercial structure.
• Conner Strong & Buckelew: PERMA's parent/affiliate organization following the 2007 merger. A New Jersey-based insurance brokerage and risk management firm that provides operational support including claims management and systems infrastructure, making it the closest functional peer in the same geography.
• Florida League of Cities: Provides insurance and risk management services to Florida municipalities through pooled programs. Comparable to PERMA in serving as a public-sector insurance administrator with statewide reach across municipal clients.
• Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority: Self-insurance pool for Michigan municipalities providing property and casualty coverage. Similar in function to PERMA's JIFs, pooling municipal risk under a governmental entity structure with shared administration.

Broad incumbents

• Aon (Public Sector Practice): Global insurance and reinsurance broker with a dedicated public-sector group advising state and local governments. Comparable as an incumbent intermediary in the same end-market though operating at much broader scale.
• Marsh & McLennan (Public Sector Practice): Global insurance brokerage with a sizable public-sector practice serving state and local governments. While not pool-based like PERMA, it competes for risk management consulting and insurance placement work from the same municipal client base.
• Willis Towers Watson (Public Sector): Global advisory, brokerage, and risk management firm with public-sector expertise. Competes for risk management and brokering mandates from the same municipal government segment that PERMA serves through JIFs.

Regional players

• Public Entity Risk Solutions (PERS) of Wisconsin: Wisconsin-based municipal insurance pool administrator serving local governments in the upper Midwest. Comparable to PERMA in operating a governmental risk pool model, but focused on a different state/region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/perma-risk-management-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PERMA