In Brief: State of the Industry

At the 2015 IAIABC Annual Convention, Mona Carter and Jeff Eddinger from NCCI discussed the current state of the industry and issues it faces in the future.

NCCI has decribed the state of the industry as calm with turbulence ahead.  Among the issues they feel will cause turbulance in the future are:

• Exclusive remedy

Courts around the nation are continuing to allow pursuit of tort claims arising from workers’ compensation claims. This includes constitutional challenges to whether workers’ compensation is still a grand bargain for injured workers.

• Medical and recreational use of marijuana

As this spreads around the nation it will impact workers’ compensation from both a treatment and employment practices standpoint

• Opt out and alternatives to traditional workers compensation

Texas is used as the model for opt-out but Texas is actually an opt-in system where workers’ compensation is still manditory.  In spite of this, most employers choose to have the workers’ compensation coverage rather than run the risk of civil suits arising out of work injuries.

• TNCs – employee/independent contractor status

There continues to be much discussion over whether someone is an employee or independent contractor. The big issues in determining this are care, custody and control of the worker.

• ProPublica/NPR

ProPublica has increased the discussions around whether workers’ comp is still a grand bargain for injured workers.

• TRIA implementation and data reporting issues.

Workers compensation is the only line of coverage where terrorism coverage is manditory. All the conversations around this have been on the federal level, but determinations on compensability will ultimately lie with state regulators.

• Large deductibles

Regulators have increased questions about large deductible policies due to some recent insolvencies involving carriers who wrote such policies with inadequate collateral. Regulators are looking at what changes need to be made to solvency regulations to provide better oversight of this issue.

• Cyber security

This is an issue for all consumers including workers’ compensation carriers and regulators.

• Athletes and workers comp

A NLRB panel recently overturned a ruling which would have allowed athletes at Northwestern University to unionize. There continues to be discussions about compensating college athletes and if this happens it opens the door for workers’ compensation coverage.