We were instrumental in forming Health Insurance Funds including The North Jersey Municipal Employee Benefits Fund (NJMEBF) which was formed under NJSA 40A:10-36 et seq, which allows two or more units of government to form a joint insurance fund for the purpose of group purchase/self-insurance against claims for various property and casualty type coverages. Amendments to NJSA 40A 10-36 et seq were enacted November 30, 1990 to expand the risk that a joint insurance fund may insure to include contributory and non-contributory group health insurance. The rules governing the operation of a joint insurance fund for local governmental units, providing group health and term life benefits, were effective July 19, 1993 NJAC 11:15-3 et seq.

Our office currently serves as the Program Manager for the North Jersey Municipal Employee Benefits Fund (NJMEBF) and the Municipal Reinsurance Health Insurance Fund (MRHIF) which purchases services for and insures more than 180 towns and school boards in New Jersey.

Our expertise in Employee Benefits programs expands outside of the HIFs including partial self-funded medical plans as well as fully insured plans.

The Employee Benefits department provides consulting services in the areas of Medical, dental, prescription card programs, short and long-term disability, group term life as well as a variety of voluntary employee paid plans. We strive to balance the needs of your municipality’s fiscal responsibility to the tax payers, while being sensitive to your employees’ need to have proper protection for themselves and their families. Our services can be summarized as follows:

• Plan design, benefit and union requirements analysis.
• Assist the employer in its negotiation process with the various bargaining units. This would include providing ideas and concepts regarding benefit revisions, suggest negotiation methods to accomplish those revisions.
• Preparation of RFPs and compare submitted proposals including short and long term costs, coverage, network and provider analyses.
• Assist in negotiating new and renewal rates using our years of experience in the group insurance business. We understand the rating formulas and trends, which enable us to discuss this subject in underwriting terms.
• Periodically provide a wide list of alternative benefit revisions along with rate reductions for such changes.
• Apprise the client of new developments in the group insurance business to include cost containment, cost shifting, flexible benefits and cost management, as well as new financial arrangements and the long-range effect and feasibility of such ideas.
• Act as liaison to adjudicate difficult, transitional or globalclaim problems. We make every effort to make your employees "feel better" in their time of need.
• Conduct Open Enrollment meetings explaining plan offerings to employees.
• Implement new plans or change of carriers and transition employees when required.