Wednesday, May 20, 2009

MIDWESTERN NEWS ZONE......

* The Board of Directors of the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Reinsurance Association (WCRA), a state-authorized independent nonprofit organization, voted Tuesday to assess its members and Minnesota employers a total of $268 million to help reduce a $423.7 million 2008 year-end deficit.

Next, the assessment must be approved by the Minnesota Commissioner of Labor and Industry Steve Sviggum and reviewed by the Minnesota Commissioner of Commerce Glenn Wilson.

From 1979-2008, the WCRA earned $1.36 billion in premiums paid by its member insurers and self-insured employers. During the robust financial markets of the early 1990s, the WCRA accumulated large surpluses. At that time, the Minnesota Commissioner of Labor and Industry recommended that, because the WCRA is a nonprofit organization and can assess its members if needed, it shouldn't maintain large surpluses and should distribute those surpluses to its members and policyholders. Since 1992, the WCRA has distributed more than $1.2 billion in surplus funds to its insurers and Minnesota employers.

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