Senate Passes Bill to Discontinue Group Self-Insurance

The Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill that would prohibit the Department of Insurance from certifying new group self-insured plans after Sept. 1. The Senate voted 31-0 on Wednesday to pass SB 264, by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, which would also require the Texas Self-Insurance Group Guaranty Fund to submit by Dec. 1 a plan to wind down operations. Texas lawmakers in 2003 enacted legislation authorizing groups of small and mid-size employers in similar industries to self-insure their work comp liabilities as a group. The Insurance Department certified at most 10 groups, according to a...