287.715. Annual surcharge required for second injury fund, amount, how computed, collection--violation, penalty. - Missouri Statutes

Annual surcharge required for second injury fund, amount, howcomputed, collection--violation, penalty.

287.715. 1. For the purpose of providing for revenue for the secondinjury fund, every authorized self-insurer, and every workers' compensationpolicyholder insured pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall beliable for payment of an annual surcharge in accordance with the provisions ofthis section. The annual surcharge imposed under this section shall apply toall workers' compensation insurance policies and self-insurance coverageswhich are written or renewed on or after April 26, 1988, including the stateof Missouri, including any of its departments, divisions, agencies,commissions, and boards or any political subdivisions of the state whoself-insure or hold themselves out to be any part self-insured.Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the surcharge imposed pursuant tothis section shall not apply to any reinsurance or retrocessional transaction.

2. Beginning October 31, 2005, and each year thereafter, the director ofthe division of workers' compensation shall estimate the amount of benefitspayable from the second injury fund during the following calendar year andshall calculate the total amount of the annual surcharge to be imposed duringthe following calendar year upon all workers' compensation policyholders andauthorized self-insurers. The amount of the annual surcharge percentage to beimposed upon each policyholder and self-insured for the following calendaryear commencing with the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2006, shall beset at and calculated against a percentage, not to exceed three percent, ofthe policyholder's or self-insured's workers' compensation net deposits, netpremiums, or net assessments for the previous policy year, rounded up to thenearest one-half of a percentage point, that shall generate, as nearly aspossible, one hundred ten percent of the moneys to be paid from the secondinjury fund in the following calendar year, less any moneys contained in thefund at the end of the previous calendar year. All policyholders andself-insurers shall be notified by the division of workers' compensationwithin ten calendar days of the determination of the surcharge percent to beimposed for, and paid in, the following calendar year. The net premiumequivalent for individual self-insured employers and any group of politicalsubdivisions of this state qualified to self-insure their liability pursuantto this chapter as authorized by section 537.620, RSMo, shall be based onaverage rate classifications calculated by the department of insurance,financial institutions and professional registration as taken from premiumrates filed by the twenty insurance companies providing the greatest volume ofworkers' compensation insurance coverage in this state. For employersqualified to self-insure their liability pursuant to this chapter, the ratesfiled by such group of employers in accordance with subsection 2 of section287.280 shall be the net premium equivalent. The director may advance fundsfrom the workers' compensation fund to the second injury fund if surchargecollections prove to be insufficient. Any funds advanced from the workers'compensation fund to the second injury fund must be reimbursed by the secondinjury fund no later than December thirty-first of the year following theadvance. The surcharge shall be collected from policyholders by each insurerat the same time and in the same manner that the premium is collected, but noinsurer or its agent shall be entitled to any portion of the surcharge as afee or commission for its collection. The surcharge is not subject to anytaxes, licenses or fees.

3. All surcharge amounts imposed by this section shall be deposited tothe credit of the second injury fund.

4. Such surcharge amounts shall be paid quarterly by insurers andself-insurers, and insurers shall pay the amounts not later than the thirtiethday of the month following the end of the quarter in which the amount isreceived from policyholders. If the director of the division of workers'compensation fails to calculate the surcharge by the thirty-first day ofOctober of any year for the following year, any increase in the surchargeultimately set by the director shall not be effective for any calendar quarterbeginning less than sixty days from the date the director makes suchdetermination.

5. If a policyholder or self-insured fails to make payment of thesurcharge or an insurer fails to make timely transfer to the division ofsurcharges actually collected from policyholders, as required by this section,a penalty of one-half of one percent of the surcharge unpaid, oruntransferred, shall be assessed against the liable policyholder, self-insuredor insurer. Penalties assessed under this subsection shall be collected in acivil action by a summary proceeding brought by the director of the divisionof workers' compensation.

(L. 1959 S.B. 167 § 287.695, A.L. 1971 H.B. 321, A.L. 1982 S.B. 470, A.L. 1986 S.B. 545, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1244, A.L. 1993 S.B. 251, A.L. 2005 S.B. 1 & 130)