The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) has asked Gov. Bobby Jindal to veto House Bill 658, workers’ compensation legislation that PCI believes would increase the likelihood of fraudulent claims, an insurer’s exposure to lawsuits, and the need for insurers to maintain higher reserves. Such conditions could lead to higher workers’ compensation rates for businesses, the insurance company trade association says.
House Bill 658 changes the “prescriptive period,” or time limits for filing a claim, for Louisiana workers’ compensation claims. Under this legislation, the prescriptive period of workers’ compensation claims expands from two to three years.
“Our members in Louisiana have serious concerns about this legislation that could increase costs and expand their exposure in an economy that needs stabilization,” said Greg LaCost, assistant vice president and regional manager for PCI.
The increase in exposure would force insurance companies to set aside additional reserves and that could lead to less ability to write policies in the state or diminish the size of the policies that they can write, PCI said. This may also affect availability with consumer businesses having fewer options to choose.
“House Bill 658 was allegedly drafted to cover injuries that could not be treated within two years,” LaCost said. However, “the bill was altered to simply expand the prescriptive period of workers’ compensation claims. If the trial lawyers wanted to address a problem, then they should have done exactly that instead of asking for the 50 percent extension of a prescriptive period,” LaCost stated.
Source: PCI
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