West Virginia Assigned Risk Pool Still Exists
Employers may be placed in the West Virginia Assigned Risk Pool. As of 1/1/09, Brickstreet will have the option to not renew Workers Compensation policies with certain employers.
The West Virginia Assigned Risk Pool is where a group of insurance companies will be assigned to provide coverage for employers that could not find coverage in the voluntary/regular market. The carriers will accept the employers placed in the Assigned Risk Pool, but will charge the employers a much higher premium versus the same employer in the voluntary market.
At the West Virginia NCCI conference that I attended on 11/12, the presenter said there were three carriers that would accept assigned risks. Surprisingly, Brickstreet was not one of those carriers. I had to step away from the conference and did not hear who the Assigned Risk Pool carriers were going to be as of 1/1/09.
If you are placed in the Assigned Risk Pool, that does not mean that your company is a bad risk for Workers Compensation. It could result from the carriers in the voluntary market not wishing to write Workers Comp policies for a certain type of employer. For example, trucking companies could not find policies without being placed into the Assigned Risk Pool, even though some of their E-Mods were less than .8!
In quite a few of my previous posts, I pointed out how to get out of the Assigned Risk Pool. You should do everything in your power to get your company out of the Pool, as the rates for the Assigned Risk Pool can be very steep. If your E-Mod is over 1.5, a safety program will need to be instituted as soon as possible.
With 190 carriers that are or will write voluntary coverage in West Virginia, there are many options other than the Assigned Risk Pool.
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