Last week, a delegation from the Injured Workers' Insurance Fund, the largest provider of workers' compensation insurance coverage in Maryland, visited BrickStreet.

Tom Phelan, President/CEO; Tim Michels, Executive VP of Claims; Brian Furr, Director of Health Services; and George Layfield, Chief of Staff, were here to discuss a number of issues, but their greatest interest was to see how we structured our 360° multifunctional business teams, how we have so quickly improved our customer service and how we adopted NCCI classifications.

What is now IWIF was formed in 1914 and became what Maryland calls an independent state agency in 1988. It was renamed the Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund in 1990.

IWIF is a fully self-supporting insurance organization and operates solely on premium and investment income, with no taxpayer support. Maryland is a competitive workers' compensation market, and IWIF writes polices both directly to business owners and through approximately 1,000 independent agents. At the same time, IWIF is governed by a nine-member board of directors appointed by the governor of Maryland.

It was a productive visit which benefited both groups. IWIF leaned about some of our accomplishments and we learned how they address issues which are important to us.