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November 2, 2009
As we
enter the last quarter of 2009 and I reflect on the state of the Association,
these words from the U.S. Declaration of Independence come to mind, “We hold
these truths to be self-evident.” For I am encouraged by a recent report
issued by Conning Research and Consulting, based in Hartford, CT., titled
“Workers’ Compensation State Funds: Evolution of a Competitive Force.”
That report just reassured me of what those of us in this Association hold to be
self-evident. A headline of an article in the Insurance Journal put it this way
“Study: Workers’ Compensation Public Option Outperforms Private Industry.”
That article, which can be found in its entirety at http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/w009/10/21/104665.htm,
summaries that the public and quasi-public workers compensation insurance plans
perform better financially than the private market in a number of performance
categories and at least as well when it comes to the bottom line.
The article goes on to say, without disclosing actual ratios and numbers
behind the conclusions, the study’s author says that the research found that
while public workers compensation providers tend to have higher losses than the
workers compensation insurance industry as a whole, they more than offset those
losses with lower expenses, higher investment returns, bigger dividends and
better injury prevention efforts.
Nice words for all of us at AASCIF (and our detractors are just going to
love that.) That is why I feel so
good about the state of the Association.
Of course, 2009 has been a challenging and interesting time for us all.
This year we still have to deal with the full impact of the global
economy; the continued challenges in the financial and investment markets and
the political developments in Washington (at least for our US members on that
last part.) The Obama Administration and Congress continue to consider a wide
range of sweeping issues starting with healthcare reform, financial regulation,
an Office of Insurance Information or a new proposal on a Federal Insurance
Office, Optional Federal Charter, a limited attack on McCarran-Ferguson
Protections (currently aimed at health insurance companies) and National
Commission on State Workers’ Compensation to name a few.
As we try to keep AASCIF members informed, we will continue with our
conferences, seminars and workshops. Coming
up in November, the Association will hold the Annual CEO Conference where we
will have speakers presenting current information on the economy, the workers
compensation markets, healthcare costs and reforms. We will also hear about the
current investment market and specific regulations governing state fund
investments. We look forward to a very informative meeting.
A number of our AASCIF committees have recently completed very successful
subject matter workshops.
Please save the date and plan to attend the 2010 AASCIF Annual Conference
July 25-28, in Lexington, KY.
Sincerely,
Dennis W. Smith
AASCIF President
2009 - 2010
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