About Us

This Site is operated by the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, as part of its mission to provide practical risk management resources to local governments, small businesses and nonprofit organizations.  For more information on the mission and programs of PERI, visit www.riskinstitute.org.

This Site was developed by PERI to help small nonprofit organizations identify the types of insurance they may need and access insurers that will consider requests for insurance quotes submitted to them electronically through this site.  Although PERI has developed its assessment process, guidance material and recommendations with care, this Site provides general information only, and is not a substitute for professional insurance advice.  Users are encouraged to contact a licensed agent or broker or another trusted insurance advisor for an individual assessment of their needs.   

This Site includes

1. Educational information

2. An assessment process that generates guidance and suggestions

3. A process for submitting requests for insurance quotes to participating insurers

Much of our material is free.  The remainder is offered for a modest fee.  Click here for additional information about our services and fees.

Our participating insurers are identified by their logos on our home page.  Click here for additional information about these companies.  Participating insurers agree to review and promptly respond to requests for insurance quotes transmitted by this Site.  Agents and brokers are also welcome to use this site to submit requests for quotes on behalf of their clients. 

Any insurer that regularly insures small nonprofit organizations and meets the our requirements is eligible for consideration as a  participating insurer. To inquire about the possibility of becoming a participating insurer, contact Mary Stewart, at mstewart@riskinstitute.org. 


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Risk management — A discipline for dealing with the possibility that the future may be surprisingly different from what we expect (see Strategic risk management).

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Insurance — Traditional risk-financing tool used to transfer the financial hazard of risk. An insurance policy spells out what is or is not covered caused by all or specific perils (causes of damage or injury). Insurance is also a contract whereby an organization agrees to indemnify another and/or to pay a specified amount for covered losses in exchange for a premium. For many nonprofits, insurance provides the funds to pay for the nonprofit’s unexpected losses of people, property and income, while ultimately keeping the organization in operation.

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Broker — An insurance professional/intermediary who markets and explains insurance products to insureds and prospective insureds. Brokers are typically licensed by a state to place insurance on behalf of clients (individuals and organizations) with any number of companies, while others represent a single insurer. A broker technically represents the client.

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Agent — An insurance professional/intermediary who markets and explains insurance products to insureds and prospective insureds. Agents, like brokers, are licensed by state regulatory agencies. However, they are restricted in the marketing and placement of coverage to those carriers with whom they have a contractual relationship. Some agents have relationships with a number of companies, while others represent a single insurer. An agent, therefore, represents the company or companies with whom she or he has a relationship.

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PERI is a nonprofit organization created in 1997 with a mission to provide practical resources to advance to practice of risk management by public entities and small nonprofit and business organizations.  PERI's web site is www.riskinstitute.org.

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Risk — A measure of the possibility that the future may be surprisingly different from what we expect. Downside risk of loss and upside risk of gain.

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