During the early 1980’s, public entities throughout Missouri experienced large liability premium increases. Some were unable to obtain any liability insurance or were offered extremely limited coverage. In response to the liability insurance crisis, public entity lobbying groups, such as the Missouri Municipal League and Missouri Association of Counties, supported creation of the Missouri Public Entity Risk Management Fund by the Missouri General Assembly.

In 2001 and 2002, commercial property carriers dealt with poor investment returns and catastrophic natural disaster losses by raising property pricing and severely limiting coverage for public entities. MOPERM was in a unique position to provide an affordable property alternative. In April 2003, coverages offered by MOPERM were expanded to include Real and Business Personal Property, Equipment Breakdown and Crime.

Commonly known as a “shared-risk pool”, MOPERM is a self-insurance fund offering broad coverage at reasonable and stable cost to Missouri’s local governments. With a membership of over 1,000 public entities, MOPERM is one of the largest public entity liability pools in the nation. Members benefit from the leadership of a Board of Trustees made up of public entity representatives who have experience with the coverage needs and challenges of local government officials. Additionally, MOPERM staff has a thorough understanding of the unique coverage concerns facing Missouri public entities. MOPERM serves only Missouri public entities, meaning member contributions stay in the state to serve local government needs.