LWCC - Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation Revenue and Competitors

In 1991, LWCC was established by an act of the Louisiana Legislature--later passed by voters as a constitutional amendment--as a private, nonprofit mutual insurance company to help stabilize the market so that employers could obtain reliable, affordable workers' comp insurance for their employees. On October 1, 1992, LWCC opened for business. Within a year, the company's policy count grew to exceed 20,000. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Louisiana faced a workers' compensation insurance crisis due to businesses' increasing lack of available and reliable coverage through private insurance companies in the state. This crisis was compounded by a severe economic downturn that placed an even greater burden on the workers' comp system. The Louisiana Assigned Risk Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan--better known as the "assigned risk pool"--was created in an attempt to solve this crisis. Private insurers were assigned a portion of the assigned risk pool depending on the amount of workers' compensation business they voluntarily wrote in the state. However, due to a combination of factors, virtually all private insurers left the state, leaving Louisiana businesses few options for this important and mandatory coverage needed for their employees. Through collaborative efforts among the government, business and labor sectors, and with the approval of the voting public, LWCC was created and the assigned risk pool was dissolved, thus leaving LWCC as both a competitive and residual market for Louisiana's businesses. LWCC is now the largest workers' compensation insurance carrier in Louisiana, providing coverage to about 22,000 policyholders in the state. The company carries an "A" (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best and, for the sixth consecutive year, has been named one of the top 50 property and casualty insurers in the nation by Ward Group, the leading authority on insurance industry benchmarking. LWCC has been able to lower its overall rates by more than 40 percent since writing its first policy in October 1992. Since 2003, the company has returned $68.8 million in dividends to qualifying policyholders, a total that is unrivaled in the Louisiana workers' comp market. LWCC has compensated injured workers by paying over $1.3 billion in medical and wage-replacement benefits since it began operations 15 years ago. Currently, it has more than $550 million in total reserves available for the continued payment of claims of injured workers. Kristin W. Wall, LWCC's president and chief executive officer, attributes the company's sustained success to a forward-thinking board of directors, an independent agent partner network, a dedicated staff, employers committed to providing safer workplaces, and the availability of quality medical care. "As LWCC looks to the future, we will continue to promote quality and efficiency throughout the organization, transforming operations to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers in an ever-evolving industry," Wall says.