Insurance Letter 536

Purpose

To communicate to insurance carriers about the 2021 supplemental benefit reimbursement assessment rate. This includes information regarding deadlines and to remind insurance carriers that interest will accrue on all unpaid balances after 30 days. The Worker’s Compensation Supplemental Benefit Reimbursement Assessment is issued annually.

The current supplemental benefit assessment is for reimbursement requests submitted to the Department in calendar year 2021 for payment on claims made in 2020. Insurance carriers were provided additional time to submit reimbursement information through December 31, 2021, resulting in assessments being issued in the spring of the following calendar year instead of the fall/winter of 2021. This schedule is expected to continue going forward. For your planning purposes, the next annual WISBF assessment, covering reimbursement requests submitted through the end of calendar year 2022, will be issued in the spring of 2023.

Background

Under s. 102.44 (1) (c), Wis. Stats., as amended by 2015 Wis. Act 55, the Work Injury Supplemental Benefit Fund (WISBF) no longer makes reimbursement payments to insurance carriers and self-insured employers for injuries that occur on or after January 1, 2016.

Section 102.75 (1g), Wis. Stats., authorizes the Department to assess and collect costs for the reimbursement of supplemental benefits payments made on claims for injuries occurring on or before December 31, 2015.

The maximum amount the Department will assess and collect in a calendar year is $5,000,000. If the total amount reimbursable in a calendar year exceeds $5,000,000, the Department will collect the maximum payable of $5,000,000 that year and collect the excess in the next calendar year, (subject to the $5,000,000 maximum), or in subsequent calendar years until the total outstanding amount is zero.

The Department will approve and pay a claim for supplemental benefit reimbursement no later than 16 months after the end of the year in which the supplemental benefit reimbursement claim was received by the Department, subject to the $5,000,000 yearly maximum. Insurance carriers are required to file a claim for reimbursement with the Department, using the Supplemental Payments Reimbursement Request Form, WKC- 140-E, no later than 12 months after the end of the year in which the supplemental benefits were paid. This form can be found at https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/forms/wkc/wkc-140-e.htm.

All supplement benefit reimbursement claims that were pending as of May 14, 2013, the effective date of the reduction of reimbursement payments, and reimbursement claims received by the Department following that date are being paid in chronological order of receipt by the department, subject to the $5,000,000 yearly maximum, until the outstanding amount is zero.

The revenue funding supplemental benefit reimbursements is from annual assessments on each insurance carrier based on the same indemnity amount that is used for that insurer in the annual general assessment for the Department's operations fund. Each company's indemnity amount is determined by summing the amounts paid for each claim "first closed" in the previous calendar year. Indemnity includes payments for temporary total and partial disability, permanent total and partial disability, compromises, death benefits and funeral expenses, paid holidays, supplemental benefits, disfigurement, and vocational rehabilitation.

Each company's assessment amount is determined by multiplying its 2020 "first closed" claims total indemnity payments by the rate indicated. Each company's claim detail listing is available by clicking "Assessment Reports" at: https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/wc/insurance/assess-program.htm. A DWD/WISCONSIN Logon Account ID and password is required to access the report.

The Worker’s Compensation Supplemental Benefit Reimbursement Assessment rate is calculated by dividing the current total amount reimbursable (up to a maximum of $5,000,000) by the total indemnity payments from insurance carriers for claims "first closed" in the previous calendar year. For 2021, the current total amount reimbursable is $2,568,305.77 divided by the total insurance carrier indemnity paid for 2020 "first closed" claims total of $192,420,782 generates a Supplemental Benefit Reimbursement Assessment rate of 0.01335, rounded up to prevent a shortfall.

Action Requested

Payment of your organization's 2021 Supplemental Benefit Assessment invoice

Payment Submission Options

Checks payable to DWD-Bureau of Finance-WC (See invoice for remittance address) OR by ACH, electronic, payment (ACH Instructions may be requested via email -see Contact, below)

Contact

WCASSESSMENT@dwd.wisconsin.gov, Pati Brown at (608) 405-4598, or Lynn Weinberger at (608) 405-4600

Enclosure

Invoice *

* Emailed invoices may be requested by emailing WCASSESSMENT@dwd.wisconsin.gov. Please provide your preferred email address and names of all organizations for whom you process payments. Please do not include attachments with emails; ATTACHMENTS SENT TO GENERAL EMAIL BOXES ARE AUTOMATICALLY REMOVED.

Reference

WC Division website for claim detail listing: https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/wc/insurance/assess-program.htm.

Click on Assessment Reports. A DWD/WISCONSIN Logon Account ID and password is required to access the report.