ACWA JPIA is a risk-sharing pool serving public water agencies, designed to deliver greater rate stability, broader coverage, and long-term cost efficiency.
Location
Roseville, California
Products and Services
The Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority (ACWA JPIA) provides coverage and risk management support for water agencies across California. Its membership is comprised of public water agencies responsible for the operation and management of water systems. Today, ACWA JPIA represents approximately 80% of California’s public water agencies, with 400 agencies overall and approximately 300 participating in the property program.
Amber Anderson and Tyler Dietz from ACWA JPIA’s Member Services team work closely with members, to manage property data, support valuations, and maintain accurate exposure information in coordination with underwriting and program operations.
Because ACWA JPIA serves public water agencies, its property portfolio includes highly specialized infrastructure such as hydro-electric facilities, treatment plants, pump stations, underground piping, fixed and mobile equipment, and other hard-to-value assets spread across a wide geographic footprint.
Valuing water and wastewater infrastructure is complex. Unlike more standardized property types, these facilities often include unique combinations of buildings, equipment, and underground infrastructure that cannot be assessed through simple templates or broad market assumptions. Replacement costs can vary significantly depending on configuration, quality, and site-specific conditions.
As Tyler Dietz explained, water and wastewater properties require a different level of diligence: “It’s not like your strip malls. There’s a lot of unique infrastructure involved, and there are many things underground that you can’t see, as well. Coming up with good models to establish a replacement cost value is, at times, challenging.”
Historically, ACWA JPIA managed this process internally, relying on spreadsheets, PDFs, member-supplied schedules, and manual calculations. But as the pool expanded and operational demands increased, this approach became unsustainable.
As Amber Anderson explained: “We did a lot of our calculations on spreadsheets. We had members sending in PDFs and scratching out items. It was a very labor-intensive and manual process.”
The organization also faced challenges maintaining accurate values due to construction inflation and rising replacement costs, which made basic trend analysis insufficient.
Amber highlighted how much that environment has shifted in recent years. “When the claim comes in, you really find out how on-point your valuation is. If you’re trending a couple of percent every year, and then a claim comes through where someone has to rebuild a giant structure that now costs double what it used to cost, it really affects the bottom line.”
Inaccurate property data poses additional risks for ACWA JPIA. Understated values may leave the pool underfunded, while overstated values can cause members to overpay.
Tyler put it this way:
“Maintaining accurate, well-supported replacement cost data is critical to the credibility of our program. If our values are understated or not defensible, reinsurers may lose confidence in our schedules and price the program more conservatively. By ensuring our data is sound and supportable, we strengthen reinsurer confidence, promote more stable and competitive pricing, and ensure member contributions appropriately reflect the underlying risk.”
When seeking a partner to support its evolving property program, ACWA JPIA selected Centurisk for its strong reputation and expertise with public entity pools.
According to Tyler, this confidence was reinforced by Centurisk’s ability to deliver both specialized appraisal services and RiskStar software as a unified solution. “That was a big plus. With both appraisal services and software, we have one team that can tailor a solution that fits both needs.”
Today, ACWA JPIA uses a five-phase approach on a five-year rolling interval, completing one phase each year. Members are contacted well in advance, given a clear timeline, and supported through scheduling and preparation for the appraisal. The result is a process that is both structured and flexible.
Importantly, ACWA JPIA gives members options. While appraisals are expected, the organization also offers a self-validation path, so members can participate in a way that works best for them.
And participation has been exceptionally strong. “We’ve had 100% participation in our appraisal program so far,” said Tyler.
To ensure successful rollout of the appraisal program, ACWA JPIA focused on communication, expectation setting, and advance notice. Centurisk worked with the team to accommodate scheduling challenges across a highly diverse membership base. They also built in flexibility for missed appointments or shifting site needs.
With positive feedback from members and on-the-ground conversations, ACWA JPIA confirmed that the program is well-received.
Alongside the appraisal program, ACWA JPIA recently rolled out RiskStar to its members. For Amber, the transition marked a meaningful step forward from the organization’s previous manual process. “I saw what we were doing before RiskStar, with PDFs, handwritten notes, and manual input. Once you get past that initial software adoption phase, things move so much more quickly. The benefits far outweigh any of the growing pains.”
That adoption has become more visible over time. Members first used RiskStar for basic updates such as revising property information, adding mobile equipment, and updating vehicles. But as members became more comfortable with the system, they began using its more advanced capabilities. “We’re seeing members add new sites, add fixed equipment to existing sites, tie equipment to buildings, add location information, and refine their schedules. We are truly seeing a very positive adoption.”
For ACWA JPIA, RiskStar now serves as the operational backbone of the property program.
“RiskStar is our centralized system of record for our pooled property exposures, enabling consistent data management, valuation integrity, and informed program decision-making.”
With RiskStar, the ACWA JPIA team can access schedules, generate reports, support claims, assist with renewals, pull invoicing data, and manage ongoing updates more efficiently. Members can make updates through the dashboard, while ACWA JPIA retains appropriate oversight through an internal vetting process. The result is a more streamlined workflow for both routine tasks and specialized requests.
Amber shared a recent example. A member sought a standalone quote for Difference in Conditions (DIC) coverage. “With RiskStar, we can easily generate quotes for something in a day versus a week.” That speed improves not only internal efficiency, but also member service.
When asked what stands out most about working with the Centurisk team, both Amber and Tyler emphasized accessibility, flexibility, and a tailored approach.
Amber pointed to the team dynamic and ease of communication: “It’s very evident that Centurisk is a close-knit team and everybody is very approachable. That accessibility is probably the thing that stands out to me the most.”
Tyler echoed that sentiment and noted how closely the solution has been shaped around ACWA JPIA’s needs and workflows. “A very tailored approach is probably the best way I could put it.”
That collaboration has allowed ACWA JPIA to maintain a helpful level of familiarity for members while modernizing the underlying process and platform.
ACWA JPIA’s relationship with Centurisk extends beyond insurance appraisals and software implementation. The organization has also become an active participant in the broader RiskStar user community through RiskStar Innovators.
Amber said, “Being able to contribute to this evolving system makes a big difference. We’re not only learning about the system’s capabilities and what we can get out of RiskStar, but also how other people are using it. That really helps us fine-tune our process and think of new possibilities.”
Tyler also sees value in having a direct voice in the product’s direction. “It’s not very often that you get to provide feedback and enhancement suggestions to such a powerful software program.” That openness gives ACWA JPIA confidence that the system will continue to evolve in ways that reflect real-world operational needs.
Amber, who has worked with software developers in previous roles, noted that not every vendor creates that kind of collaborative environment. “It’s really cool to have that forum where you can just throw out, ‘It’d be really nice if I could do this,’ and have someone who can actually make it happen in real life hear you.”
In addition to product feedback, ACWA JPIA values the opportunities Centurisk creates for peer connection and shared learning across its client community, like the annual RiskStar Illuminate conference.
Tyler said, “Centurisk puts an arena together for us to network with other clients. We learn from each other and from Centurisk, to see if there’s a better way to approach what we’re doing.”
That sense of community extends the value of RiskStar beyond technology alone. It creates a space where users can exchange ideas, validate approaches, and discover new possibilities.
By combining Centurisk’s appraisal services with RiskStar’s centralized property data platform, ACWA JPIA has built a more scalable and defensible approach to managing complex water and wastewater property schedules.
Today, the organization benefits from:
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