Group Self-Insurance Bill has Hearing

This week Rep. Mike Henne (R-Clayton) provided sponsor testimony on House Bill 459 in the House Insurance Committee. The bill would allow groups of employers to be granted self-insured status under the state’s Workers’ Compensation Law provided the employers have sufficient financial ability to pay their workers’ compensation obligations and abide by the regulatory framework which would be established by the BWC Administrator.

Rep. Henne testified: “A self-insurance group is a method by which small to medium sized employers within the same industry can pool their workers’ compensation liability together and spread it amongst multiple employers. Many self-insured employers can disperse their risk within their own company and have the means to meet the financial obligations of their workers’ compensation program. By allowing employers to group together, they can have the same characteristics of the employers that are self-insured.”

The OMA Safety and Workers’ Compensation Committee will be discussing this bill and much more at its February 13 meeting. 1/25/2018