NonProfits' United

NonProfits' United (NPU), established in 1988 as Paratransit Insurance Corporation and based in Oakland, California, is a cooperative self-insurance pool that offers commercial auto insurance and workers' compensation coverage to California nonprofit agencies, including senior centers, food banks, group homes, child development programs, health clinics, disabled services programs, and other social service providers.

Insurance cooperative

NonProfits' United is a member-governed and funded cooperative alternative to traditional commercial insurance, and is California’s oldest self-insurance and risk management service provider for nonprofit organizations. For member organizations, NonProfits' United provides stable, affordable insurance programs, expert claims settlement, driver instruction, safety and loss control services, member awards programs, and on-site consulting.

NonProfits' United operates two self-insurance groups, the Vehicle Insurance Pool (VIP), established in 1988, and the Workers’ Compensation Group (WCG), which commenced operations in 2004. Each is a member-owned and governed cooperative venture of nonprofit organizations committed to effective risk management and insurance cost containment.

Rather than having its business regulated by the California Department of Insurance, NonProfits' United has an unusual situation in that it operates under provisions of the California Corporations Code, which was amended to allow private nonprofit organizations to create insurance pools.

NonProfits United provides funding for innovative projects, and offers incentive and grant programs to reward members and their employees for their commitment to safety.

History

NonProfits' United was established in 1988 as a vehicle insurance pool, initially conceived for the sole purpose of supporting nonprofit paratransit providers in California. Due to rising insurance costs in the mid-1980s, many nonprofit transportation agencies were shutting down, causing a critical shortage of paratransit services in California. In some cases, nonprofit agencies could not get any vehicle insurance coverage from traditional commercial insurance carriers, and when they could find coverage, premiums were often inflated by two hundred percent or more.

Because of this crisis, a group of nonprofit executive directors led by Bill Durant, in concert with the California Association for Coordinated Transportation (CalACT), looked at the feasibility of forming a self-insurance pool. Peter Steinert, a California Department of Transportation employee, submitted a successful grant proposal to pay for the feasibility study, and a steering committee was formed to hire and work with consultants. The original CalACT steering committee that started NonProfits' United included Jeffrey Webster, Ron Servis, John Q. Pounds, Frank Baker, Peter Steinert, Ann Fleming, Robert Garcia, June Gilmore, Dennis Studebaker, Bill Brashears, and Bill Durant.

Over seventy founding member organizations --all nonprofit agencies, with a majority focused on transportation-- were assembled to form the Paratransit Insurance Corporation in 1988, becoming the first nonprofit insurance pool in California. During its first decade, the membership of Paratransit Insurance widened to include most sectors of the nonprofit community, prompting the name change to NonProfits’ United in 1998.

Vehicle Insurance Pool

The Vehicle Insurance Pool, now comprising over three hundred member organizations, saw its assets grow to $12.5 million during its first eighteen years of operation. Any California nonprofit that owns or leases at least one vehicle can apply for membership, but membership is only accorded to organizations whose losses and risk management practices indicate a responsible, successful approach to loss control.

Among the successful programs initiated by the Vehicle Insurance Pool is a rear crossview mirror purchase program. By evaluating losses incurred by member agencies, it was discovered that many claims arose from accidents that occurred while drivers were backing up their vehicles. Installing rear crossview mirrors on certain types of vehicles has reduced such accidents by as much as 85 percent.

Workers’ Compensation Group

The Workers' Compensation Group provides insurance coverage for nonprofit health and human services agencies.

In 2002, when workers' compensation premiums were doubling annually for many nonprofit agencies in California, the crisis prompted NonProfits’ United to explore the feasibility of offering workers’ compensation insurance programs. Using the same model as the Vehicle Insurance Pool, the Workers' Compensation Group was established as an alternative insurance provider for the numerous nonprofits strained financially by rapidly increasing workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

With three core members, the NonProfits’ United Workers’ Comp Group took root in December, 2004. Within a year, the Workers' Compensation Group comprised over forty members.

The Worker's Compensation Group empowers member organizations by educating them about the advantages and responsibilities of self-insuring. Advantages for members of the Workers' Compensation Group include savings of as much as thirty percent on premiums.^[1]

References

1. ^ Safety in numbers: High costs prompt smaller firms to band together to self-insure for workers' comp San Francisco Chronicle, July 28, 2005.

External links

• NonProfitsUnited.com - Corporate website

• NonProfitsUnited.com - 'The Drive to Succeed', Laura Sullivan, Risk Management (December, 1999)

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