Pinnacol in the News: Separation Efforts end for 2010

You may have seen a lot of recent publicity regarding the end to efforts to separate Pinnacol  from the state in 2010. The following is Ken's official statement:

March 30, 2010

STATEMENT from Ken Ross

President and CEO, Pinnacol Assurance

"Today we were advised that Pinnacol's proposed plan to separate from the State of Colorado will not be considered by the Colorado General Assembly during the 2010 session. We are disappointed that this proposal does not appear to be moving forward because we believe it would have benefited our policyholders, protected injured workers and brought stability to Colorado’s workers’ compensation market. Of course, we will remain open to further discussions with our elected officials to attain these goals.

While this is not the outcome Pinnacol was seeking, we remain committed to providing reasonable rates, issuing dividends, serving injured workers, offering superior customer service, and covering Colorado’s residual market.

This announcement does not change the ongoing concerns we have with certain bills that came from the Pinnacol Interim Committee that are now being considered by the legislature.

We are especially concerned about the impact of three bills:

 House Bill 1009 would change the makeup of our board of directors, disrupting the management of Pinnacol at a time when it has been highly successful at lowering rates, issuing dividends and ensuring the delivery of excellent customer service.

 House Bill 1356 would cap our surplus at an arbitrary rate, threatening our ability to remain solvent and provide protection to our policyholders and their injured workers.

 And House Bill 1012 would impede the ability of all insurance companies to conduct legitimate investigations and scrutinize fraudulent claims, benefitting those who engage in fraudulent activities while increasing the costs of workers’ compensation insurance for everyone.

If passed, these bills would be detrimental to Pinnacol's business operations and governance. They would also have a negative impact on Colorado’s business-friendly workers’ compensation market —– a market that has helped make the state a place where businesses want to relocate or expand their operations, creating jobs for our citizens.

We are calling upon the business community to join with us in telling their legislative representatives that these bills will harm Pinnacol's business operations and are not good for Colorado companies as they slowly emerge from the current economic downturn.”