IWIF Out, Chesapeake Employers In
“Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund” is no more
After 23 years named IWIF, or more completely, the Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund, on October 1, 2013, the organization is now known as Chesapeake Employers Insurance Company. We first brought this to your attention last year – see the article here. The organization began in 1914 as the Maryland State Accident Fund. Next year marks the organization’s 100th anniversary.
Not Just the Name
In the name change, Chesapeake also converts from an independent state agency to a private, non-stock, not-for-profit insurance company. The Maryland Governor, however, continues to appoint the organization’s board of directors. Although we’re unsure of the specifics, one can only assume Chesapeake will remain the workers’ compensation insurer of last resort.
The CEO Tom Phelan has stated, “The conversion to Chesapeake will be seamless for our customers and agents. It will be ‘business as usual.’”
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Company’s new employees are not State of Maryland employees. They are, instead, employed by the new, private company.
If the company for whom you work is insured by IWIF / Chesapeake Employers, you still make the same claim if you are injured. Everything still goes through the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission. We still recommend you are represented by counsel, though there is no requirement that you be represented to file a claim.
Still in the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Business
Chesapeake still has the same goal. They will tell you it’s workplace safety. We believe their main goal is minimizing what is paid out to injured workers. They are still very much an insurance company, arguably even “more” of an insurance company now.
The less they pay you, the injured worker, the healthier their organization is. Don’t let your health be compromised for theirs.
The job of your workers’ compensation lawyer is to maximize your recovery for your injuries. This includes not just temporary total disability, or what you are paid to make up for the paycheck you are no longer receiving regularly, but permanent partial disability as well. To learn more about PPD, please click here.
In addition to maximizing the recovery, your comp lawyer should help make you feel comfortable throughout the process. He or she should explain each step. Many lawyers practice “a little bit of comp.” Not nearly as many make it a substantial part of their practice – the kind of focus necessary to know workers’ compensation inside and out. Make sure you feel comfortable with your attorney. If you are not getting the kind of service you feel you need, you may switch at any time.
Sources:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-iwif-new-name-20130924,0,2202892.story
IWIF / Chesapeake Employers Insurance Company
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