Insurers Say SB 71 Doesn't Go Far Enough

Various insurance associations believe that California bill SB 71 does not contain enough cost-managing reforms needed to offset the higher benefits. The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has given a preliminary estimate that SB71 will cost the insurance industry $3.6 billion to $4.6 billion by the time all benefit provisions are effective in 2006, claim officials for the Alliance of American Insurers (AAI). The low end of the estimate accounts for increased utilization of the workers' comp system, which typically happens when benefits increase. A large portion of the estimates ...