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The articles in this volume were first presented at the Seventh and
Eighth Conferences on Economic Issues in Workers' Compensation
sponsored by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. A
principal objective of the Conference series has been for workers'
compensation insurance researchers to apply state-of-the-art
research methodologies to policy questions of interest to the
workers' compensation insurance community. This community is a
rather diverse group--it includes employers, insurers, injured
workers, regulators, and legislators, as well as those who service
or represent these groups (e.g., physicians, rehabilitation
specialists, labor unions). Despite this diversity and the variety
of agendas, the Conference series continues to address many
important policy questions. Readers familiar with the Conference
series and the four previously published volumes should notice an
evolution in terms of the topics addressed in this volume. In the
earlier conferences, the topics were more often concerned with the
underlying causes of the tremendous increase in workers'
compensation benefit payments. In the present volume, h- ever, only
four of the fourteen chapters directly concern workers' c-
pensation insurance benefits, while the other ten concern the
pricing of workers compensation insurance. This is not to suggest
that workers' compensation cost increases have abated. In 1989,
workers' compensation incurred losses exceeded $45 billion to
continue the annual double-digit cost increases. Two explanations
can be offered for the somewhat altered focus of this volume.
First, despite the continued increase in prices, the financial
results for the workers' compensation insurance line continue to be
poor.
Workers' compensation insurance presents a set of institutional
charac teristics that are unique. For every other form of
insurance, both the insurer and the coverage provided under the
policy are completely controlled either by the federal or a state
government, or by an arrangement between the insured and a
property-casualty insurer. Unemployment insurance, Social Security,
and bank-deposit insurance are examples for which a legis lative
body sets the benefits. and a government agency prescribes the in
surance premium. By contrast, the coverage and premiums for
automobile, homeowners, and fire insurance are individual
contractual arrangements between a policyholder and one of the more
than 1800 U. S. property casualty insurance companies. Workers'
compensation insurance, however, is a hybrid in which state
legislatures stipulate the terms of coverage, while regulated
competition is the major determinant of prices. State legislatures
enact statutes that prescribe the replacement rate and duration of
indemnity benefits, as well as full reimbursement of medical
expenses. And although the manual rates for workers' compensation
insurance continue to be administered by a prior approval process
in most states, the competitive-market price for coverage is
achieved through a variety of price-modification plans (Appel and
Borba, 1988)."
The articles in this volume were first presented at the Seventh and
Eighth Conferences on Economic Issues in Workers' Compensation
sponsored by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. A
principal objective of the Conference series has been for workers'
compensation insurance researchers to apply state-of-the-art
research methodologies to policy questions of interest to the
workers' compensation insurance community. This community is a
rather diverse group--it includes employers, insurers, injured
workers, regulators, and legislators, as well as those who service
or represent these groups (e.g., physicians, rehabilitation
specialists, labor unions). Despite this diversity and the variety
of agendas, the Conference series continues to address many
important policy questions. Readers familiar with the Conference
series and the four previously published volumes should notice an
evolution in terms of the topics addressed in this volume. In the
earlier conferences, the topics were more often concerned with the
underlying causes of the tremendous increase in workers'
compensation benefit payments. In the present volume, h- ever, only
four of the fourteen chapters directly concern workers' c-
pensation insurance benefits, while the other ten concern the
pricing of workers compensation insurance. This is not to suggest
that workers' compensation cost increases have abated. In 1989,
workers' compensation incurred losses exceeded $45 billion to
continue the annual double-digit cost increases. Two explanations
can be offered for the somewhat altered focus of this volume.
First, despite the continued increase in prices, the financial
results for the workers' compensation insurance line continue to be
poor.
Workers' compensation insurance presents a set of institutional
charac teristics that are unique. For every other form of
insurance, both the insurer and the coverage provided under the
policy are completely controlled either by the federal or a state
government, or by an arrangement between the insured and a
property-casualty insurer. Unemployment insurance, Social Security,
and bank-deposit insurance are examples for which a legis lative
body sets the benefits. and a government agency prescribes the in
surance premium. By contrast, the coverage and premiums for
automobile, homeowners, and fire insurance are individual
contractual arrangements between a policyholder and one of the more
than 1800 U. S. property casualty insurance companies. Workers'
compensation insurance, however, is a hybrid in which state
legislatures stipulate the terms of coverage, while regulated
competition is the major determinant of prices. State legislatures
enact statutes that prescribe the replacement rate and duration of
indemnity benefits, as well as full reimbursement of medical
expenses. And although the manual rates for workers' compensation
insurance continue to be administered by a prior approval process
in most states, the competitive-market price for coverage is
achieved through a variety of price-modification plans (Appel and
Borba, 1988)."
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