The assigned risk provider is also frequently referred to as The State Fund or The Pool
Workers’ Compensation Insurance Coverage is required by law in nearly every state in the country. The basic purpose of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance is to provide wage replacement benefits and medical treatment for employees who have been injured on the job. Workers Comp prevents the employer from bearing the costs of injuries that occur during normal business operations.
Each state has their own method for how they go about determining rates on workers’ compensation class codes. Most states partner with the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) to determine rates for different class codes. Some states; like Indiana for example, have their own rating system administered by a government organization. Most use the basic guidelines of the NCCI system.
Every state also has a different way for how they go about setting up a provider of last resort for the employer’s of the state. This provider of last resort is also referred to as the assigned risk provider, the state fund or sometimes as the pool. This provider is designated as the provider of last resort for businesses who cannot find coverage through the open market. It is typically more expensive from this provider for a number of reasons.
Businesses that end up having to purchase coverage from the assigned risk provider, may not be able to find insurance coverage for a number of reasons. Lots of times it is because the business operates in a classification code that carries more risk than most carriers are willing to take. Sometimes it is because that business has had too many claims within a short period time. It also is frequently because the business just does not generate enough income for the amount of risk in their industry. States usually have a requirement that the business has to try to obtain coverage from a certain number of providers on the open market before they can apply to the assigned risk provider. Usually that number is two or three providers.
There are three main ways states go about providing employers with an assigned risk provider. Some states provide their own fund, some use NCCI and some have a partner carrier who guarantees coverage for employers who cannot find coverage on the open market. Typically states who have a strong assigned risk provider who competes with the open market enjoy the best rates on workers’ compensation insurance. There are different ways to provide this strong provider, but typically the stronger this provider is the lower the rates employers pay.
Utah is an example of a state who has its own fund. This fund is called the Workers’ Compensation Fund. This fund dominates 57 percent of the market and is the main reason Workers Compensation Utah enjoys some of the lowest rates in the country for workers comp coverage. Colorado has a partnership with a company called Pinnacol. Pinnacol was begun around the time workers’ compensation became a requirement in the state. It was designed in partnership with the state government so there would always be someone guaranteeing coverage and competing to keep the rates reasonable for the employer’s of Colorado. Both of these states enjoy some of the lowest rates on Workers’ Compensation Insurance because of their strong Assigned Risk Providers. New York is an example of the other end of the spectrum. New York has its own state fund administered as a non profit agency. New York also has very difficult regulatory compliance regulations for workers comp. These regulations force many carriers to simply not offer coverage in the state. All of these factors combine to cause New York to have some of the highest workers compensation rates in the entire country.
So administering the state fund is left up to each individual state. Again there are three main ways the states go about doing this. Some handle it themselves, others partner with an outside carrier and some contract this service out to NCCI. All three ways can be effective ways to keep costs down for the employers of that state. The strength of these pools goes a long way towards determining what employers across the state pay for workers compensation coverage.