Relates to participation in a public group self-insurer

-Allows boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES), the workers' compensation consortia that many of them have created, county self-insurance pools and public benefit corporations the ability to participate in a public group self-insurer for workers' compensation if they so choose;

-Transfers regulatory authority to authorize certain workers' compensation plans from the Superintendent of Financial Services to the Workers' Compensation Board. Under current law, the Superintendent of Financial Services may allow a public group self-insurer the ability to provide deductible coverage that allows the local government to retain some level of the risk and insure only the portion of the risk above a certain threshold. This helps local governments reduce their workers' compensation insurance costs.

-Subject public group self-insurers to virtually all of the same requirements that private group self-insurers must abide-by.

Specifically the legislation would require public group self-insurers to:

-File annual reports which include audited financial statements, actuarial opinions and payroll information;

-Comply with other financials standards to be established by the chair;

-Submit to an independent review every three years and to audits of their finances and actuarial standards when the chair deems appropriate;

-File their rating plans and report when they deviate from the plan;

-Provides the chair the ability to require a public group self-insurer to assess its members if, in the chair's judgment, that is necessary to the group's finances.

-The only exception is that because public group self-insurers members are public entities, the public group Self-insurers will remain exempt from the requirement to deposit security with the Workers' Compensation Board. JUSTIFICATION :

Currently, public group self-insurers are operating in New York State without the regulatory oversight the State provides to private group self-insurers. This legislation will explicitly authorize public group self-insurers to operate and provide the Workers Compensation Board the regulatory ability to provide oversight to these entities. Group self-insurance is an effective way for public entities to protect against workers' compensation liability. The proposed legislation is intended to strengthen the regulatory oversight of public group self-insurers while, at the same time, making group self-insurance a more flexible, available and effective means by which New York's public entities can join together to provide the high quality workers' compensation coverage that they and their employees need.

These public group self-insurance programs would be regulated by the Workers' Compensation Board, and the bill includes safeguards for employees and the taxpayers. Workers' compensation insurance is a significant cost to local governments and property taxpayers. Authorizing municipal and county pools, along with allowing school districts to join public group self-insured programs have proven to reduce workers' compensation costs and improve risk and claims management for public entities.

Importantly, the proposal would allow county pools to reduce costs through deductible options that are common in other states. Public self-insurance programs have robust safety and risk management programs designed specifically for local government employees and the risks they face.

The reforms proposed in this legislation would help local governments avoid losses in the first place, and protect the ongoing, safety of employees.

Prior legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

Would provide municipal government savings at no cost to the State.

Effective date

Immediately.