Workers' compensation insurance: rating organizations: statistical agent.

(1) Existing law requires the Insurance Commissioner to designate a licensed rating organization, as defined, as his or her statistical agent to gather and compile workers' compensation insurers' loss and expense experience statistics, and all licensed rating organizations are required to report loss and expense experiences of their member workers' compensation insurers to the statistical agent. Subject to reasonable rules approved by the commissioner, the statistical agent is required to make available those compiled experience statistics to all licensed rating organizations. The statistical agent is authorized to make a reasonable charge to other ratings organizations for the expense incurred by it in combining, tabulating, and compiling the experience of all workers' compensation insurers. This bill would require a designated statistical agent to conduct public meetings, as provided, would specify records of the designated statistical agent that are public, and would specify information that the designated statistical agent is not required to make available to the public. (2) Existing law requires a licensed rating organization to make experience rating information contained in its records available to any insurer, insurance agent, or broker that is admitted or licensed to transact workers' compensation insurance in this state. Existing law prohibits a licensed rating organization from entering into an agreement, as specified, that prohibits information services companies in the business of publishing or providing experience rating information immediately prior to September 15, 1989, from continuing to receive and provide experience rating information. This bill would require a rating organization to provide experience rating information, by electronic means, directly to information service providers in the business of publishing or providing experience rating information immediately prior to September 15, 1989, or to advisory organizations, as defined, on a timely basis, as provided. This bill would require a licensed rating organization to make experience rating information contained in its records available to any information services company that is engaged in furnishing workers' compensation information to insurers, insurance agents, and insurance brokers, admitted or licensed to transact workers' compensation insurance in this state, as provided.