Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma
One of the workers compensation reform bills, HB 2155, which was defeated in the state Legislature last week, had good intent but fell short of accomplishing true workers’ compensation reform the state’s largest insurance and property casualty association said today.
Dan Ramsey, president and chief executive officer of the 500 member Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma (IIAO) said his member agencies recognize everyday that the current workers’ compensation system is too expensive and provides very poor benefits to injured workers.
“Our members are in total support of making Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation laws more plausible to business owners and injured workers, and while we did not officially oppose this piece of legislation, we did not support it either. It simply fell too short in accomplishing reform and providing reasonable assurance that injured workers would be protected in the event the insurance company covering their company became insolvent or, in the event of a self-insured program, their company declared for bankruptcy. We believe the last thing anyone would want is a system that does not provide these important fail safe protections for injured workers, as is currently provided under workers compensation policies.”
HB 2155 would have allowed employers to opt out of workers’ compensation insurance and provide insurance protection to injured workers through alternative insurance coverage.
Issues of concern to IIAO included:
- Lack of Guaranty Fund Protection – The financial protection provisions provided in the legislation did not adequately assure that injured workers were going to be properly protected in the event the insurance company providing the coverage becomes insolvent.
- Eligibility Requirement – IIAO supports eligibility to only large, more sophisticated employers similar to what the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court currently uses to qualify employers desiring to be self insured in Oklahoma.
- Other States Protection – The legislation did not address whether or not coverage was to be provided for employees working outside Oklahoma. IIAO believes the statute should have clearly stated that such protection is not automatically provided.
- Exclusive Remedy – This issue was quite unclear on several fronts and should have been better articulated.
“Our members recognize and respect the Legislature’s intent to continue to reform our workers’ compensation system and IIAO stands ready to assist in any manner needed to reform a system that is fair to both employers and employees.”
