The Bay Area Schools Insurance Cooperative

What The Bay Area Schools Insurance Cooperative does

The Bay Area Schools Insurance Cooperative (BASIC) is a California Joint Powers Authority (JPA) formed in 1998 to provide self-insurance programs covering liability and property exposures for public educational agencies in California. Membership currently consists of three California JPAs — Butte Schools Self-Funded Programs, North Bay Schools Insurance Authority, and Redwood Empire Schools' Insurance Group — although eligibility is open to any public school district, county superintendent of schools, community college district, public education JPA, or charter school in the state. BASIC holds the CAJPA Accreditation with Excellence designation, the highest available from the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities, with independent consultant reviews across governance, finance, claims control, safety and loss prevention, excess coverage, and risk management.

BASIC's product portfolio centers on three core programs: a Liability Program covering general, auto, professional, and school board/employment practices liability; Crime Coverage with limits up to $1 million per member above a $10,000 deductible; and the CSAC-EIA Cyber Liability Program, which provides a minimum $12 million per-member limit and a $50 million annual program aggregate. These are supported by administrative services — self-insured program administration and excess liability claim management — and by excess/reinsurance purchasing above BASIC's pooled program layer. BASIC does not operate proprietary technology platforms; instead, it contracts with third-party administrators Sedgwick and George Hills to deliver underwriting, financial, claims, litigation, and risk management functions, with specialty support from Bickmore Actuarial, James Marta & Company LLP (audit), Spinelli Donald & Nott (legal), Duff & Phelps (property appraisals), and Newfront (brokerage).

BASIC is a member-owned, non-profit cooperative operating under a pooled self-insurance funding model. Revenue is generated through annual member premium contributions and fees paid into the pooled layer. Distribution is direct: prospective members contact BASIC's staff or board representatives to request applications and pricing quotations. The cooperative is governed by a Board of Directors composed of representatives from member JPAs and led operationally by Executive Director Michael J. Kielty and Finance Manager Andrew Obando. There is no external equity ownership, no venture funding, and no M&A activity in the record.

Name

The Bay Area Schools Insurance Cooperative

Legal name

Bay Area Schools Insurance Cooperative

Website

https://basicjpa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Bay Area Schools Insurance Cooperative (BASIC) is a California Joint Powers Authority formed in 1998 that provides self-insurance programs for liability, property, crime, and cyber security coverage to public educational agencies statewide. Membership currently comprises three California JPAs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Member Premiums and Contributions: BASIC generates revenue through member contributions to the self-insurance pool. Public educational agencies pay premiums and fees to participate in the cooperative's liability, property, crime, and cyber security programs. The cooperative operates as a non-profit joint powers authority with pooled risk funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

BASIC is a California Joint Powers Authority that provides self-insurance programs for California public educational agencies. It pools risk across member entities to deliver a Liability Program covering general, auto, professional, and school board/employment practices liability, plus Crime Coverage up to $1 million per member, Cyber Security Insurance with a $12 million minimum per member limit and $50 million annual program aggregate, and self-insured program administration and excess liability claims management services.

Product overview

BASIC (Bay Area Schools Insurance Cooperative) is a joint powers authority formed in 1998 that provides a unified commitment to well-funded self-insurance programs for California public educational agencies. The organization's core product portfolio consists of three main insurance programs: Liability Program (covering General liability, Auto liability, Professional liability, and School Board and Employment Practices liability), Crime Coverage (up to $1 million for theft and fraud losses), and Cyber Security Insurance (CSAC-EIA program with $12 million minimum per member limit and $50 million annual aggregate). These are complemented by administrative services including self-insured program administration, excess liability claims management, and related support services provided through contracted partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Liability Program Provides broad coverage in the areas of General liability, Auto liability, Professional liability, and School Board and Employment Practices liability for California public educational agencies.
• Crime Coverage Provides crime insurance up to $1 million per member above a $10,000 deductible to manage loss exposures resulting from criminal acts such as robbery, burglary, and other forms of theft or fraud, for California public educational agencies.
• Cyber Security Insurance CSAC-EIA Cyber Liability Program offered through BASIC, providing cyber security insurance with a minimum per member limit of $12 million and $50 million annual program aggregate, for California public educational agencies.
• Self-Insured Program Administration Services Self-insured program administration services for BASIC members, delivered by contracted partners Sedgwick and George Hills, providing underwriting, financial management, claims management, litigation management, risk management, and accounting services.
• Excess Liability Claim Services Excess and reinsurance coverage purchased by BASIC to cover losses that exceed the cooperative's Pooled Program Layer, providing member agencies higher per-occurrence limits beyond the pooled retention.

Quantifiable outcome

• Crime coverage up to $1 million per member
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• SedgwickcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBASIC contracts with Sedgwick to handle the day-to-day operations of the group providing underwriting, financial, claims, litigation and general risk management. Sedgwick's employees provide general administrative, financial management, underwriting, loss prevention, claims management, litigation management, risk management, accounting, and other services as necessary for the operations of the group.
• George HillscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBASIC contracts with George Hills to handle the day-to-day operations of the group. The firm's employees provide general administrative, financial management, underwriting, loss prevention, claims management, litigation management, risk management, accounting, and other services as necessary for the operations of the group. Mike Kielty serves as primary contact.
• NewfrontmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvides brokerage services to BASIC. Located at 1435 North McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, CA 94954. Jim Wilkey serves as Sr. Vice President and Eileen Massa as Account Manager.
• James Marta & Company LLPsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvides financial audit services for BASIC. Located at 701 Howe Avenue, Suite E3, Sacramento, CA 95825. James P. Marta, CPA serves as primary contact.
• George Hills CompanysupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvides litigation and excess claims management services for BASIC. Located at 3043 Gold Canal Drive, #200, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670. Rose Melchor serves as primary contact.
• Spinelli, Donald, & NottsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvides legal counsel services for BASIC. Located at 815 S. Street, 2nd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95811. Domenic D. Spinelli serves as primary contact.
• Bickmore ActuarialsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvides actuarial services for BASIC. Located at 180 Promenade Circle, Suite 300, Sacramento, CA 95834. Mike Harrington serves as primary contact.
• Duff & PhelpssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvides property appraisals services for BASIC through their fixed asset management and insurance solutions division.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Alliant Insurance Services: Large national insurance brokerage with a significant California public-sector and education practice. Broad incumbent serving school districts and JPAs with brokerage and risk-management services that overlap BASIC's value proposition.
• Keenan & Associates: Major California insurance brokerage and consulting firm specializing in public-sector and education clients. Broad incumbent that serves many of the same school districts BASIC insures, offering competing brokerage and program-administration services.

Direct peers

• California Schools JPA: California JPA providing pooled insurance coverage to member school districts. Directly comparable to BASIC in target market (California public schools), coverage lines (liability, property), and pooled self-insurance structure.
• CSAC Excess Insurance Authority (EIA): California public-agency insurance pool from which BASIC sources its cyber liability program. Operates as a pooled risk-sharing authority for California public entities, directly comparable in structure and risk-pooling model to BASIC.
• Protected Insurance Program for Schools (PIPS): Joint Powers Authority providing liability and property insurance to public schools in California. Closely aligned with BASIC's coverage scope and target member base of educational agencies.
• Schools Insurance Authority (SIA): California Joint Powers Authority providing pooled property and liability insurance to public school districts. Directly comparable to BASIC as a fellow school-focused insurance pool operating under the same California JPA framework.
• Self-Insured Schools of California (SISC): California JPA providing self-insured health and welfare benefits to school districts. Comparable to BASIC as a school-focused pooled insurance cooperative, though concentrated on employee benefits rather than property/liability.

Others

• York Risk Services Group: Third-party claims administrator and insurance services firm comparable to BASIC's core partners Sedgwick and George Hills. Operates as an enabling service provider in the same workers' compensation, claims, and risk management ecosystem.

Regional players

• Kern County Schools Pools (JPA): Regional California school JPA providing self-insurance programs to Kern County districts. Similar pooled insurance structure to BASIC, but operating at a county rather than statewide scope.
• San Diego County Schools Risk Management JPA: Regional JPA providing risk management and pooled insurance to San Diego-area school districts. Comparable to BASIC in pooling structure but limited to a single county's educational agencies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 The Bay Area Schools Insurance Cooperative