Thursday, August 25, 2011
Oklahoma City– Insurance Commissioner John Doak said today that the company which manages the nation’s largest database of workers’ compensation insurance information has filed a request with the Oklahoma Insurance Department to decrease the cost of workers’ compensation insurance in Oklahoma.
Doak reported that the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. (NCCI) filed to reduce workers’ compensation insurance rates in Oklahoma by 1.7 percent effective Jan. 1, 2012. The Commissioner said NCCI attributed the rate decrease to this year’s passage of Oklahoma Senate Bill 878. Reforming Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation law was high on the agenda of Gov. Mary Fallin and SB 878 received overwhelming support from both parties in the Legislature.
“Bipartisan passage of SB 878 is beginning to reap rewards for Oklahoma,” Doak said. “After years of suffering nothing but increases to the cost of insuring employees, it appears that many Oklahoma employers can look forward to paying less for workers’ compensation insurance.”
Doak called SB 878 “a good first step toward an ongoing reform process.”
The Oklahoma Insurance Department will review NCCI’s filing in the coming days. Approval of the decrease would stem the historic tide of rate increases to workers’ compensation insurance rates. Prior to passage of SB 878 rates were anticipated to rise again.
To emphasize the importance of reforming workers’ compensation, Commissioner Doak appointed Denise Engle as the state’s first Deputy Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation.
“The Insurance Department looks forward to cooperating with Gov. Fallin and the Legislature in the next legislative session toward continued improvements to Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system,” Doak said.
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About the Oklahoma Insurance Department
The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.
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For more information contact:
Glenn Craven
(405) 522-1769
e-mail: glenn.craven@oid.ok.gov