The 78th West Virginia Legislature recently concluded its 60-day regular session, and among the 243 bills passed were several affecting the workers' compensation insurance market.

Senate Bill 571 creates a rebuttable presumption of compensability for cardiovascular injury or disease for professional firefighters. The firefighter must have been an active, paid firefighter for the two previous years and have actively worked a fire-related call, training session or drill where an actual fire occurred within the past six months. The bill also requires the Offices of the Insurance Commissioner to study issues regarding volunteer firefighters and report back to the Legislature by Dec. 1.

House Bill 4079 regulates Professional Employer Organizations and requires them to be licensed by the Insurance Commissioner by July 1, 2009. It also allows workers' compensation carriers to write either a master policy or a multiple coordinated policy.

House Bill 4381 deals with the establishment of a residual or assigned risk pool and a new guaranty association. As more insurance companies enter the market this year, there will be businesses with high risks that may need to be placed in a residual risk pool. The bill also eliminates the requirement that private carriers maintain an office in West Virginia. It further allows the Insurance Commissioner to designate an administrator of the assigned risk pool effective Jan. 1, 2009, once BrickStreet is no longer the insurer of last resort.

House Bill 4636 contained technical clean-up language in preparation for the open workers’ compensation market in July. Effective July 1, state-mandated surcharges on all workers' compensation policies, regardless of carrier, are capped at 9 percent for deficit reduction and 5.5 percent for the administrative operations of the Insurance Commissioner. The bill also extends the time an injured worker can protest decisions from 30 days to 60 days.