In May 2009, the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI), a nonprofit research institute focused on support for risk management, launched Insuranceformynonprofit.org, an innovative website that helps small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations assess their insurance needs and submit requests for insurance quotes to participating insurers.
According to PERI Executive Director Gerard Hoetmer, “InsuranceForMyNonprofit is more than a portal providing access to insurers. The site was designed first and foremost as an educational site specifically for nonprofit organizations.”
The site, which is online at www.insuranceformynonprofit.org, offers multiple levels of participation:
- Free educational information about insurance, including material prepared by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. Educational information can be browsed without registration.
- A free insurance needs self-assessment tool that offers guidance as the user completes an online questionnaire, and at completion suggests insurance the user might consider. Users register with an email address to use the self-assessment tool, and responses are saved so they can complete the questionnaire in multiple sessions.
- A five-year subscription is available for a small fee. Subscription services include risk management and insurance suggestions based on the user’s self-assessment responses and a process for submitting requests for insurance quotes to participating insurers.
Hoetmer also noted that “Insuranceformynonprofit.org is a first-of-its-kind tool aiding nonprofit organizations as they research their insurance needs. At times it can be difficult for small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations to determine the coverage needed and to find an insurer. Insuranceformynonprofit.org helps solve this important problem by bringing together nonprofits and insurers to address both problems in one place.”
PERI encourages users and insurers that are interested in participating to visit www.insuranceformynonprofit.org. Questions about the site should be directed to Mary Stewart.