Skip Maine state header navigation
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARD
FACT SHEET
NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR
(July 1, 2007 - June 30, 2008)
Title 39-A, Section 154 as amended
by P.L. 2003, Chapter 425 provides the following:
-
The assessment imposed on an insured employer for support
of the costs of the Workers’ Compensation Board must be a percentage of
that insured employer’s premium.
-
The initial assessment must be based on estimates of the
premium base for the upcoming fiscal year based on the quarterly returns
and anticipated trends in the insurance marketplace.
-
The premium base for assessment purposes is the payroll
times the filed manual rate times the employer’s current experience modification
factor, less net safety or scheduling rating adjustment, if applicable. The only deductible credits that may be included in the calculation
are for the $1,000 and $5,000 indemnity deductible and the $250 and $500
medical deductible per 24-A M.R.S.A. §2385 and 2385-A. For policies using retrospective rating, the premium base must
be calculated in accordance with this paragraph regardless of the actual
retrospective premium calculation.
-
The Board may prospectively adjust the assessment percentage
using all insurance companies (including those who must pay in full on
June 1st) up to three times during the fiscal year to ensure that receipts
are high enough to cover the Board’s budget allocation.
-
The Board is required to return assessment payments that
exceed total projected receipts by more than 10% after creating a reserve
with funds equal to one-quarter of its annual budget.
- Insurers with estimated annual assessments of $50,000
or more based on previous assessment returns may make quarterly payments. All collected payments must be submitted to
the Board with the next quarterly payment. Those with an annual assessment estimate of under $50,000 shall
pay the assessment on or before June 1st.
-
Affiliated insurers are permitted to consolidate their
payments in order to meet the $50,000 threshold requirement for quarterly
payments.
- The Maine Bureau of Insurance shall report to the Workers' Compensation
Board all newly-authorized workers' compensatin insurance carriers in order
to facilitate notification to the new carrier of its obligation to collect
the assessment.
-
In consultation with the Bureau of Insurance, the Board
may audit all returns and investigate any issues relevant to the collection
and payment of the assessment.
-
The assessment must be determined by the Board by May
1st of each year.
-
Insurance companies or associations must begin collecting
the initial assessment from all employers on July 1st of each year.
-
All insurance companies and associations, in addition
to filing quarterly reports, must file a final reconciled annual return
on or before September 15th covering the prior fiscal year in which the
previous assessment was levied. This
reconciliation may result in the need for additional payments from some
carriers. The amended statute requires
the final return be certified by the company or association’s chief financial
officer. The employer’s premium
base is also subject to the final audit requirements of Bureau of Insurance
Rule 470.
-
The total assessment must be distributed among insurance
companies or associations and self-insured employers in direct proportion
to the pro rata share of disabling cases attributable to each group for
the most recent calendar year for which data is available.This distribution must be determined on a basis
consistent with the information reported by the Department of Labor, Bureau
of Labor Standards, Research and Statistics Division in its annual Characteristics
of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses in Maine publication provided that
any segment of the market identified as “not insured” be excluded from
the calculation of proportionate shares.
The pro rata share of disabling cases
based on the above amounted to 7,966
disabling cases for insurance companies or 58.0654566659%
of the total and 5,753 disabling cases
for self-insured employers or 41.9345433341%
of the total cases (13,719).
Return to WCB Homepage