Highmark, BrickStreet Fined for Error Leading to Rate Hike; PCRB Under Consent Order

Thanks to a reporting error that wreaked havoc on workers' compensation premiums over the past year, the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau will have regulators looking over its shoulder and an insurer responsible for part of the snafu is facing a six-figure fine. The state Insurance Department announced this week that it had taken the highly unusual step of signing a consent order with the PCRB requiring it to submit to an outside auditor and, possibly, an examination by insurance regulators in the next two years. Bill Taylor, president of the rating bureau, on Wednesday declin...