Insurance Commissioner Commends First Insurers to Retroactively Correct Workers Comp Charges

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, Dec. 20 -- The Pennsylvania Insurance Department issued the following news release:

Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman today commended Zenith Insurance Company and ZNAT Insurance Company, the first insurers to submit informational workers compensation filings that describe how the insurance companies are retroactively correcting charges to employers for their workers compensation policies written between April 1, 2018, and December 31, 2018.

The informational filings were submitted due to the Insurance Department's recent approval of a mid-year loss cost revision filing from the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau (PCRB), which modifies the PCRB's filing that took effect April 1, 2018, and was used to determine workers comp insurance rates for Pennsylvania businesses. The PCRB is an independent bureau which makes filings to the Insurance Department on behalf of the nearly 325 companies that write workers comp insurance in Pennsylvania.

Upon approving the PCRB's mid-year loss cost revision filing on December 14th, Altman urged insurers to take action to reimburse any businesses that were overcharged because of this earlier PCRB filing.

"Because information in the earlier PCRB filing was used in setting rates in place since April 1, 2018, it is possible some businesses paid higher rates than they should have since that time," Altman said. "Therefore, I have urged all workers comp insurers to determine as quickly as possible whether this is the case for any businesses they insure, and to reimburse any businesses which have overpaid as a result of the filing that was effective April 1, 2018."

"I commend Zenith Insurance Company and ZNAT Insurance Company for doing the right thing, by making sure their business customers are reimbursed for any workers comp premium overcharges for policies written between April 1 and December 31 of this year," Altman said. "I strongly encourage all workers comp insurers in Pennsylvania to follow this example."

In the filing, Zenith Insurance Company and ZNAT Insurance Company say they intend to "... retroactively revise and correct the rates applied to all policyholders effective April 1, 2018 thru December 31, 2018..."

"As soon as we learned of the need for the PCRB to submit a modified filing, we began working with the organization to do so promptly, so we could begin our review and approval process as soon as possible," Altman said. "We also immediately began investigating the issue and will take appropriate actions once the investigation is concluded."

"Workers compensation insurance is vital to protect workers hurt on the job and make sure they get the medical care they need. At the same time, this is a cost for businesses, and that cost must be calculated with accurate information," Altman said.

Insurers who have submitted workers comp informational filings to address any overcharges for policies written between April 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018 can be found on the Business Insurance page at www.insurance.pa.gov.