NJ Governor Signs New WC Measures
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed into law a package of workers' compensation bills designed to address concerns about the efficiency and responsiveness of the state system. The new workers compensation measures in the state will expand public representation on the rate-setting board, boost the authority of workers' comp judges to enforce their decisions and provide flexibility to improve access to medical care for injured workers.
"With the bill signing, we are addressing issues between workers and their employer’s insurance companies before a complaint is even filed," Corzine said in a statement.
The package imposes criminal penalties on employers that repeatedly fail to provide workers' compensation coverage and makes it easier for the state to prosecute them. The legislation also gives labor unions and business organizations increased representation on the panel that sets of workers' compensation insurance rates, which long has been dominated by insurance company representatives.
"We gave worker' comp judges the power they need to crack down on the bad players in the system while ensuring greater fairness to both workers and employers," Senate Labor Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo, D-Dist. 36, said in a statement. "The sanctions in this reform program should make it untenable for companies to forego workers' comp coverage for their employees and it also makes it a lot more uncomfortable for workers who try to game the system."
Richard M. Stokes, regional vice president for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said the legislation would bring relatively small adjustments to workers' compensation law in the state. Insurers did not object to the bills, he said.
The top five workers’ compensation insurers in New Jersey in 2007, according to A.M. Best Co. state/line data, were: NJM Insurance Group, with 24.5%; Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos., 12.5%; Hartford Insurance Group, 9.2%; American International Group Inc., 8.1%; and Travelers Group, 7.4%.
Source: Source: Bestweek | Published on October 10, 2008
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