2006 Nebraska Revised Statutes - § 48-146.01 — Compensation insurance; assigned risk system; safety committee; failure to establish; effect.

Section 48-146.01
Compensation insurance; assigned risk system; safety committee; failure to establish; effect.

(1) For purposes of this section:

(a) Assigned risk employer means a Nebraska employer that is in good faith entitled to, but is unable to obtain, workers' compensation insurance through ordinary methods. Assigned risk employer does not include an employer who is in default on workers' compensation premiums, who has failed to reimburse an insurer for amounts to be repaid pursuant to workers' compensation insurance written on a policy with a deductible, who has failed to provide an insurer reasonable access to books and records necessary for a premium audit, or who has defrauded or attempted to defraud an insurer; and

(b) Director means the Director of Insurance.

(2)(a) The director, after consultation with insurers authorized to issue workers' compensation insurance policies in this state, shall put into effect a reasonable system to guarantee that each assigned risk employer shall be covered by workers' compensation insurance covering its employees subject to the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act following the assigned risk employer's application to the assigned risk plan and tender of the required premium.

(b) The director shall enter into an agreement with one or more workers' compensation insurers to provide workers' compensation insurance to assigned risk employers. In selecting an insurer to become an assigned risk insurer, the director shall consider the cost of coverage to assigned risk employers, the loss control and claims handling services available from the workers' compensation insurer, the financial condition of the workers' compensation insurer, and any other relevant factors. An agreement entered into under this subsection may not exceed five years.

(c) If the director determines that the cost of workers' compensation insurance premiums for an insurer to provide assigned risk coverage pursuant to such an agreement would be unreasonably high, the director may enter into an agreement in which the assigned risk insurer covers a portion of the losses incurred by the assigned risk employer. Any agreement that involves an average rate level of less than two and one-half times the prospective loss costs approved for an advisory organization pursuant to section 44-7511 shall not be considered unreasonably high for the purposes of this section. Pursuant to any such agreement, remaining losses shall be assessed against all workers' compensation insurers writing workers' compensation insurance in this state and risk management pools created under the Intergovernmental Risk Management Act based on their workers' compensation premiums written in this state or contributions made to risk management pools. Assigned risk premiums shall be excluded from the basis for such assessments.

(3) The director may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out this section.

(4) Any employer which is required to establish a safety committee pursuant to sections 48-443 to 48-445 and which is not in compliance with such sections shall not be entitled to be covered by workers' compensation insurance under this section.

Source:

Laws 1971, LB 572, § 15

Laws 1986, LB 811, § 72

Laws 1993, LB 757, § 14

Laws 2000, LB 1119, § 39

Laws 2005, LB 119, § 42

Cross References:

Intergovernmental Risk Management Act,see section 44-4301.

~Revised Statutes Supplement, 2006