Board Assessments – Insurance Carriers Overview

In accordance with Title 12 NYCRR Part 500 that governs the assessment process, the assessment rate will be determined by dividing the total estimated annual expenses of the Board (including administrative and special fund costs) by an assessment base of total estimated statewide premium.

On or before November 1 of every year the Board will determine the assessment rate to be effective January 1 of the following calendar year. The assessment rate will be published in the form of a subject number and can be found on the Board's website.

For employers covered by an insurance policy from a carrier or the State Insurance Fund standard premium is defined as the full annual value of direct written premiums booked. For private self-insured employers, a standard premium equivalent will be determined. Estimated statewide premium equals the premium related to carrier and State Insurance Fund policies and the standard premium equivalent for all self-insurers.

No.

The assessment rate should be applied to a base of full annual premium as it is written/booked. All premium discounts, deductible program adjustments, large risk rating or alternative rating options and retrospective rating adjustments are subject to the assessment in the year the policy is booked. For example, if written premium for a particular policy is $1 million but that is net of a $200,000 premium discount, the assessment rate should be applied to the full premium level of $1.2 million. Please note that the deductible credit for assessment purposes should be done after the experience modification factor.

The intent of the various adjustments shown on the insurer remittance form is to ensure that all employers are paying a proportionate share of assessments based upon the type of payroll covered regardless of the specific type of policies obtained. For example, two employers with identical amounts and types of payroll (by classification) should be paying the same amount for assessments, at the same time, even if one has a standard policy and the other has a large deductible or retrospectively rated policy.

As described above, the intent of the various adjustments shown on the insurer remittance form is to ensure that all employers are paying a proportionate share of assessments based upon the type of payroll covered regardless of the specific type of policy obtained. Column (10) is included to provide insurers a place to report any other type of adjustment needed and not included in previous columns, to fulfill that intent.

The assessment rate is applied to premium as it is written or booked not as it is earned.

Reports and payments will be filed quarterly in accordance with the following schedule:

Yes. If an insurer underpays an assessment as a result of inaccurate reporting the insurer must pay the full amount of the underpaid assessment along with interest at the rate of 9% per annum. Further, if it is determined that the payer knew or should have known that the reported information was inaccurate an additional penalty of up to 20% may be imposed.

There is nothing in the Rules and Regulations governing the assessment process that explicitly prohibits the early cancelation of a workers' compensation policy. However, it should be noted that there may be policy and/or insurer specific prohibitions, fees or penalties that apply for early cancellation which may negate any assessment "savings". In addition, such cancellations will not be considered an acceptable reason for any period of non-compliance which may result from early policy termination and gaps in coverage which may result.