Some injured workers may assume that California’s Insurance Commissioner has a lot to do with workers’ comp benefits.
That’s actually not the case, as the Insurance Commissioner is not involved in administering the system, setting policy and procedures, or legislative matters.
Still, the Insurance Commissioner must weigh in periodically on rates, which is why hearings are held on rate “filings”. Although the rulings by the CDI are advisory only, they have political impact in that they get press and focus the attention of pundits and policymakers on trends in the system.
Tomorrow the California Department of Insurance will be holding a hearing in San Francisco on the WCIRB’s rate filing for 2012. Here is a link to summary of the filing:
https://wcirbonline.org/wcirb/wcirb_wire/2011/2011
The lengthy filing for 2012 advisory rates can be found here:
https://wcirbonline.org/wcirb/resources/rate_filings/2012_rate_filings.html
It’s good to know that consumer and worker advocate Dave Jones is running the California Department of Insurance. Jones is a friendly, bright and energetic new face on the political horizon in California.
In his limited time in office Jones has focused his energy on the healthcare arena, seeking to implement the Obama health reform. Jones has also focused on promoting legislation that would provide for some CDI regulation of health insurance rates. And he has backed a measure to give employers more rights to resolve disputes with insurers in California rather than other forums.
With all this in mind, I noted an article of interest in an insurance industry publication, headlined “Consumer-Friendly Dave Jones Rubs Some in Insurance Industry the Wrong Way” that does a capable job of summarizing some of the issues that have surfaced under Jones’ tenure other than workers’ comp:
http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=278677
Stay tuned.
Julius Young
www.workerscompzone.com
www.boxerlaw.com
Category: Political developments
510.835.8870