The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) recently said that it is seeking a solution for its small business members that were overcharged for workers’ compensation premiums due to a data error by an insurance company.
“Many small businesses already struggle with the high cost of workers’ comp insurance, and these inflated premiums have made it even more difficult,” Gordon Denlinger, state director of NFIB in Pennsylvania, said. “NFIB believes that insurance companies unintentionally overcharging small businesses for workers’ comp coverage as a result of a data error should give that money back.”
The Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau (PCRB), a nonprofit that is licensed by the state to annually calculate the “loss costs” of its insurance company members and file that information with the Pennsylvania Insurance Commission, recently sent an interim filing to correct the error. The PCRB has said, however, that it doesn’t have the authority to make the change retroactive to April 1. The changes also will not take effect until January 2019.
“The PCRB says it doesn’t have the authority to turn the clock back, only to correct the mistake going forward, and not until January, as businesses continue to be overcharged,” Denlinger said. “NFIB hopes the Insurance Commission can right this wrong and demand businesses be made whole. If not, we plan to investigate possible legal or legislative remedies.”
A single insurer made the data error, according to PCRB, but that insurer has a substantial share of the workers’ compensation market, and the error was severe. The name of the insurer has not been publicly released.