§ 85A-95. Deductibles.

A.  On approval by the Insurance Commissioner, and following the adoption of such rules as the Insurance Commissioner deems necessary, each insurer issuing a policy under this act shall offer, as a part of the policy or as an optional endorsement to the policy, deductibles optional to the policyholder for benefits payable under this act.  Deductible amounts offered shall be fully disclosed to the prospective policyholder in writing.   The policyholder exercising the deductible option shall choose only one deductible amount.

B.  Optional deductibles shall be offered in each policy insuring liability for workers' compensation that is issued, delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed under this act on or after approval by the Insurance Commissioner, unless an insured employer and insurer agree to renegotiate a workers' compensation policy in effect on that date so as to include a provision allowing for a deductible.

C.  If the policyholder exercises the option and chooses a deductible, the insured employer shall be liable for the amount of the deductible for benefits paid for each compensable claim of work injury suffered by an employee.  The insurer shall pay all or part of the deductible amount, whichever is applicable to a compensable claim, to the person or medical provider entitled to the benefits conferred by this act and seek reimbursement from the insured employer for the applicable deductible amount.  The payment or nonpayment of deductible amounts by the insured employer to the insurer shall be treated under the policy insuring the liability for workers' compensation in the same manner as payment or nonpayment of premiums.

D.  If the Insurance Commissioner determines it to be feasible, and under such rules as he or she may adopt, premium reduction for deductibles may be determined before the application of any experience modification, premium surcharge, or premium discounts, and, to the extent that an employer's experience rating or safety record is based on benefits paid, money paid by the insured employer under a deductible as provided in this section may not be included as benefits paid so as to harm the experience rating of the employer.

E.  This section shall not apply to employers who are approved to self-insure against liability for workers' compensation or group self-insurance funds for workers' compensation.

Added by Laws 2013, c. 208, § 95, eff. Feb. 1, 2014.