Prairie State Insurance Cooperative

What Prairie State Insurance Cooperative does

Prairie State Insurance Cooperative (PSIC) is a member-owned, non-profit insurance cooperative founded in 2006 and headquartered in Riverdale, Illinois. It provides protected self-insurance risk management programs exclusively to Illinois public school districts, operating two core programs: a Property/Casualty Program with 219 member districts and a Workers' Compensation Program with 171 member districts, supplemented by specialized add-on coverages including cyber liability, deadly weapons protection, student accident, site pollution, and crisis advisory. Members pay annual premiums into a pooled fund that covers claims, operating costs, and — when loss experience is favorable — distributes surplus equity back to districts; PSIC has returned over $5.5 million to members since inception.

PSIC does not disclose a proprietary technology platform; the cooperative is administered in partnership with Risk Program Administrators, and claims handling is fully outsourced to a network of third-party administrators (Gallagher Bassett Services for P/C claims, Comprehensive Risk Services for workers' compensation, A-G Specialty Insurance for student accident, CFC Underwriting for cyber incidents, CrisisRisk Strategies for deadly weapons events, and Ironshore Environmental for pollution claims). Distribution is executed exclusively through ARM of Illinois, a statewide network of independent Association Risk Management representatives assigned by county, who personally reach districts and manage enrollment. Pricing is quote-based and individually negotiated, requiring applicants to submit five years of carrier-generated loss runs and expiring premiums.

The cooperative is governed by a 9-member Executive Committee drawn from participating districts (chaired by Michael Toeben of Albers ESD #63 for 2026–2027), with no external equity, private equity, or parent-company ownership. The organization has 51–100 employees and operates a single office in Riverdale, IL; revenue is not publicly disclosed. Annual Agency of the Year recognition (2020–2025) functions as the primary channel-engagement mechanism across the ARM agent network.

Name

Prairie State Insurance Cooperative

Legal name

Prairie State Insurance Cooperative

Website

https://prairiestateinsurance.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

PSIC is a non-profit, member-owned Illinois insurance cooperative founded in 2006 that provides self-insured property/casualty and workers' compensation coverage — plus specialty modules like cyber and deadly-weapons protection — exclusively to Illinois public school districts through a statewide ARM agent network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Riverdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Insurance Premiums (Cooperative Membership): PSIC is a protected, self-insurance risk management program for public school districts. Member schools pay premiums into the cooperative pool, which is used to cover claims and operational costs. The cooperative structure allows for equity returns to members when the pool performs favorably.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Prairie State Insurance Cooperative (PSIC) is a member-owned self-insurance cooperative that provides comprehensive insurance and risk management programs to Illinois public school districts. It operates two core programs — a Property/Casualty Program (219 members) and a Workers' Compensation Program (171 members) — supplemented by specialized coverages such as cyber liability, student accident, pollution liability, and deadly weapons protection. Member districts pay annual premiums into the cooperative pool and receive equity returns when the pool performs favorably.

Product overview

Prairie State Insurance Cooperative (PSIC) is a protected, self-insurance risk management program offering a comprehensive suite of insurance products exclusively for Illinois public school districts. The cooperative operates two core programs: the Property/Casualty Program (serving 219 member districts) and the Workers' Compensation Program (serving 171 member districts). These core offerings are supplemented by specialized add-on coverages including Cyber Network Security and Privacy Liability, Student Accident Insurance, Site Pollution Incident Legal Liability, Deadly Weapons Protection, and Gallagher Crisis Protect Coverage. PSIC provides these coverages through a network of third-party administrators including Gallagher Bassett Services for claims handling and Comprehensive Risk Services for workers' compensation claims. The cooperative was founded in 2006 and has returned over $5.5 million in equity to members since inception.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Property and Casualty Program Self-insurance risk management program providing comprehensive property and related coverages — including general liability, auto liability, sexual abuse and molestation, school board legal liability, excess liability, crime, boiler and machinery, and builders risk — for Illinois public K-12 school districts, special education districts, and intergovernmental units. The program currently serves 219 member districts.
• Workers' Compensation Program Self-insurance workers' compensation coverage program for Illinois public school districts, providing long-term premium stability and integrated claims handling through third-party administrator Comprehensive Risk Services, LLC. The program currently serves 171 member districts.
• Cyber Network Security and Privacy Liability Coverage Specialized cyber liability coverage protecting school districts against network security breaches and privacy liability claims, with 24/7 incident response hotline support from CFC Underwriting. Available as part of PSIC's cooperative offerings with member application forms.
• Student Accident Insurance 24-hour student accident coverage program for students during school activities, administered by third-party A-G Specialty Insurance, LLC. Provides claim forms, a submission portal, and status inquiry support for member districts.
• Site Pollution Incident Legal Liability Coverage On-site pollution liability coverage for school districts, underwritten through Ironshore Environmental with a 24-hour dedicated hotline and claims handling for environmental incidents at member sites.
• Deadly Weapons Protection + Crisis Advisory Coverage and crisis response services for deadly weapons incidents at schools, with CrisisRisk Strategies LLC providing 24/7 event responder services for qualifying incidents at member districts.
• Gallagher Crisis Protect Coverage Crisis protection coverage included as part of the cooperative's comprehensive insurance offerings for member school districts, providing access to crisis response resources through partner Gallagher Bassett Services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $5.5 million returned to members since inception in 2006
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 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

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc.coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrimary claims administrator for liability, excess liability, school board legal liability, boiler and machinery, property and excess property claims. Provides 24/7 claims hotline and dedicated supervisors for different claim types.
• Comprehensive Risk Services, LLC (CRS)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThird-party administrator handling workers' compensation claims for member school districts. Provides claim kit documentation and adjuster contacts for indemnity and medical claims.
• ARM of Illinois, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProgram marketing partner responsible for reaching and enrolling Illinois public school districts. Operates a statewide network of ARM representatives assigned by county.
• Risk Program AdministratorscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProgram administrators responsible for overall management and administration of the PSIC cooperative insurance program.
• A-G Specialty Insurance, LLCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThird-party administrator handling student accident insurance claims. Provides claim forms, submission portal, and status inquiries for student accident coverage.
• Company NurseminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWorkers' compensation claim reporting service. Provides phone-based reporting for work comp claims with dedicated search codes for PSIC members.
• CrisisRisk Strategies LLCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEvent responder for Deadly Weapons Protection coverage. Provides 24/7 crisis response services for qualifying incidents at member districts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• United Educational Insurance Group: Specialty insurance program manager focused on public school districts, offering multi-line coverage through a pooling structure. Comparable to PSIC in target customer, coverage breadth, and pool-based underwriting.
• Ohio School Plan: Ohio Schools Council-sponsored insurance pool offering property, liability, and workers' compensation to member school districts. Closely mirrors PSIC's cooperative self-insurance structure and K-12 school district target market.
• New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal (NYSIR): Nonprofit reciprocal insurance exchange providing comprehensive coverage to New York public school districts. Directly comparable to PSIC's nonprofit cooperative model serving K-12 districts with multi-line coverage.
• Schools Insurance Authority (SIA): California-based joint powers authority providing property, liability, and workers' compensation coverage to K-12 school districts. Directly comparable to PSIC as a member-owned school insurance pool operating under a public-entity cooperative model.
• Public Entity Risk Management Exchange (PERME): Public entity risk pool providing insurance and risk management to municipalities and school districts. Comparable to PSIC as a self-insurance pool serving public entities with cooperative governance.

Emerging players

• Trident Public Risk Solutions: Program manager specializing in public entity risk pools, including school district coverage. Comparable to PSIC as a pool-based provider focused on public entities, but operates across multiple states rather than a single state.

Broad incumbents

• Brown & Brown, Inc. Large U.S. insurance brokerage with a dedicated education and public entity practice. Provides insurance placement and risk management to school districts and competes with PSIC's pool model via traditional brokerage arrangements.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Global insurance brokerage and risk management firm with a large K-12 education practice. Competes with PSIC indirectly through its brokerage services that arrange coverage for school districts, and is also the parent of PSIC's claims partner Gallagher Bassett.
• Hub International Limited: Top-10 global insurance brokerage with significant K-12 and public entity book of business. Competes with PSIC for school district insurance placements and offers comparable coverage breadth and risk management services.

Others

• Risk Program Administrators: Insurance program administrator that partners with pools and associations to deliver coverage programs. Listed as a core partner to PSIC (provides program administration), making it operationally adjacent and a logical peer reference for administrative scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prairie-state-insurance-cooperative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Prairie State Insurance Cooperative