The Garden State Municipal Joint Insurance Fund (GSMJIF) is a property and casualty insurance fund serving municipalities throughout the state of New Jersey. The GSMJIF is one of the largest joint insurance funds in New Jersey, whose member towns comprise more than 1,000,000 residents. A joint insurance fund is the pooling of resources by two or more public entities to achieve economies of scale and purchasing leverage, thereby obtaining insurance protection at a lower ultimate cost than if purchased through the traditional insurance market. The GSMJIF was formed in 2002 in response to the lack of affordable commercial insurance for municipalities. Its primary objective is to provide members with long-term insurance, budget stability and superior control over their risks by offering appropriate coverages with innovative safety and claims-management programs. The GSMJIF achieves this by implementing the best risk and claims-management practices, which improve public and employee safety and lower the ultimate cost of risk.