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Texas proposes basing workers comp rates, classifications on NCCI manual

Posted On: Jan. 7, 2014 12:00 AM CST

The Texas Department of Insurance is considering using the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc.’s manual on which to base the state’s workers compensation rates and classifications, according to a notice the department posted on its website.

Boca Raton, Fla.-based NCCI, a nationwide workers comp ratings and research organization, is the comp rating agency for 34 states and the District of Columbia. NCCI provides statistical information for the Texas Insurance Department, which currently acts as the state’s workers comp rating agency.

The state agency’s petition, which was filed Dec. 30 and is posted online, said Texas has been working since 2012 to adopt NCCI’s manual to work “toward making workers compensation insurance regulation in Texas more efficient.”

The petition requests that Texas Insurance Commissioner Julia Rathgeber adopt NCCI’s “basic manual,” which includes classification codes and endorsements for workers comp policies, the department said on its website.

The department proposes using “Texas exceptions” in addition to the NCCI standards, such as allowing the Texas Insurance Department to participate in a dispute resolution process between policyholders and workers comp insurers, the bulletin says.

If approved, Texas would adopt NCCI’s manual for workers comp policies issued on or after June 1, the bulletin says.

“If Texas becomes an NCCI state, policyholders operating in other NCCI states and carriers writing workers compensation coverage in multiple NCCI states would have more consistent rules,” the bulletin reads.

The department has scheduled a Jan. 24 public hearing in Austin, Texas, to discuss the petition.