WHO WE ARE/OUR STORY
We’re the best choice for local government property, liability, workers’ compensation, cyber, and specialized coverages because we were created by local governments, for local governments. We provide sustainable economic value, we build and maintain meaningful long-term relationships with our Members, and we act ethically, sustainably, and consistent with our internal Mission Statement:
The Mission of the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool is to offer and provide Texas municipalities and other units of local government with a stable and economic source of risk financing and loss prevention services.
And our Core Values instruct every decision we make:
- Public Service: Serving the public good — for the benefit of local governments and their tax-paying citizens.
- Fiscal Responsibility: Responsibly managing our members’ pooled funds for the protection of their financial stability.
- Operational Excellence: Delivering excellent member service in all components of our risk financing and loss prevention services.
- Integrity: Serving with honesty, integrity, and professionalism.
How did the Pool come about? In 1973, the Texas Legislature passed legislation mandating that Texas cities provide workers’ compensation coverage to their employees. At that time, most traditional insurance companies refused to write the coverage or quoted exorbitant rates. For those reasons, the legislation also authorized the creation of the first municipal risk pool in the United States, which was the predecessor of the TML Intergovernmental Risk Pool as we know it today.
The Texas Municipal League and several cities used the 1973 legislation to “pool” their resources. Using contracts called “interlocal agreements,” they created the “Texas Municipal League Workers’ Compensation Joint Insurance Fund.” The Fund began operating on July 1, 1974, with close to 100 members.
Today, the Pool provides workers’ compensation coverage for almost 200,000 local government employees, including 34,000 first responders. An 18-member Board of Trustees — composed primarily of city officials — oversees 250 Pool employees who administer the coverages.
In 1982, cities saw other coverages becoming scarce and expensive, so TML created a liability fund that year and a property fund the following year. (In the mid-1980s, the U.S. insurance market essentially crashed.) According to Time Magazine, that was “a time of frantic efforts to obtain insurance that, at best, was available only in limited amounts with high retentions at exorbitant rates.”
The Pool truly came into its own during that period, and — today — the Pool provides liability coverage to over 2,700 local governments and protects almost $50 billion in local government property.
In 2024, the Pool created a new Cyber Fund to protect Members from that emerging risk. The Pool celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024. The focus now shifts to serving our Members for the next 50 years by Building for the Future.
The bottom line: We were the first municipal risk pool in the nation, and we’ll be here as long as local governments need us.