Increase Work Comp Costs Problem = S&P Report

Workers' compensation, one of the insurance lines most acutely affected by the terrorism of 2001 and by the continued absence of government backstop insurance for terrorism events, is fast becoming a high-priced thorn in the side for U.S. companies seeking coverage for their employees, Standard & Poor's said in a new report yesterday. 'Choose your poison,' said Fred Sklow, a director in Standard & Poor's insurance ratings group. 'If you're a company with a large concentration of employees, you may find yourself paying an exorbitant premium or even that insurance companies don't want to write...