GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
S	1
SENATE BILL 1084
     

 
Short Title:	Workers' Comp. Loss Modifications and Study.	()	
Sponsors:	Senators Berger and Foxx.	
Referred to:	Rules and Operations of the Senate.	
April 5, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require the north carolina rate bureau to revise and refile a classification plan for loss modifications in workers' compensation insurance and to authorize the legislative research commission to study workers' compensation insurance classifications, including the development and implementation of loss modifications.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 58‑36‑10(4) reads as rewritten:
"(4)	Risks may be grouped by classifications and lines of insurance for establishment of rates, loss costs, and base premiums. Classification rates may be modified to produce rates for individual risks in accordance with rating plans that establish standards for measuring variations in hazards or expense provisions or both. Those standards may measure any differences among risks that can be demonstrated to have a probable effect upon losses or expenses. With respect to loss modifications for workers' compensation insurance premium rates, the Bureau shall file, subject to review, modification, and promulgation by the Commissioner, a classification plan that the Commissioner determines is desirable and equitable to classify employers for insurance purposes. Subsequently, the Commissioner may require the Bureau to file changes in the classification plan. The Bureau shall establish and implement a comprehensive classification rating plan for motor vehicle insurance under its jurisdiction. No such classification plans shall base any standard or rating plan for nonfleet private passenger  motor vehicles, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, upon the age or gender of the persons insured. The Bureau shall at least once every three years make a complete review of the filed classification rates to determine whether they are proper and supported by statistical evidence, and shall at least once every 10 years make a complete review of the territories for nonfleet private passenger motor vehicle insurance to determine whether they are proper and reasonable."
SECTION 2.  The North Carolina Rate Bureau shall file, in accordance with G.S. 58‑36‑15, a revised classification plan to reflect the provisions of this act. The Bureau shall make the filing no later than October 1, 2001, and the plan shall become effective six months after the date the plan is approved by the Commissioner of Insurance. The revised plan shall apply only to new and renewal workers' compensation insurance policies written on and after the effective date of the plan.
SECTION 3.  Any adjustments in rates for workers' compensation insurance that are necessary to offset any change in premium level due to the implementation of this act shall be made through adjustments in the base rates for the affected coverages. Those adjustments shall be filed by the Bureau with the Commissioner of Insurance in accordance with Article 36 of Chapter 58 of the General Statutes.
SECTION 4.  The Legislative Research Commission may study workers' compensation insurance classifications, including the development and implementation of loss modifications. The Commission may report its findings and recommendations, including any recommended legislation, to the 2002 Regular Session of the 2001 General Assembly.
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to workers' compensation insurance contracts entered into or renewed on or after that date.