The History of LWCC
When choosing a workers' comp carrier, you want to be sure that the one you select is financially strong and competitive, has a solid reputation, and will always be there when you need it. With LWCC, you'll get all of the above.
LWCC is Louisiana's largest workers' compensation carrier, providing coverage to more than 18,000 policyholders. We revitalized a workers' comp system that was on the verge of collapse and have continued to provide much-needed stability in Louisiana. While other carriers will come and go as market conditions fluctuate, LWCC will always be here to meet the needs of Louisiana businesses and their hardworking employees.
Here's our track record:
1980-1990
Louisiana companies experience a 477% increase for workers' comp insurance, and more than 70 percent of these businesses unnecessarily fall into the Louisiana Assigned Risk Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan ("assigned risk pool").*
* Scott, Loren C. Major Problem Solved and New Jobs: The Impact of the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation on Louisiana. March 1997.
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1991
October: Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation (LWCC), a private nonprofit mutual insurance company, is created by a constitutional amendment to save the state's failed workers' compensation system by tackling the factors that led to its demise and stabilizing costs.
December: LWCC's board of directors names Steve Cavanaugh president and chief executive officer of the company. Cavanaugh brings a vast amount of experience to the new corporation. After practicing law in the workers' comp field and managing a majority of the state's workers' comp self-insured pools, he was selected to restructure the work comp system as director of the Office of Workers' Compensation. While there, he established one of the most aggressive and comprehensive medical management positions in the country, helped craft new statutory guidelines for claims management, and created a hearing officer system for handling claims disputes.
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1992
October: LWCC opens for business and hits the ground running. On October 1, 1992, 381 policies are issued and 3 claims are received. LWCC begins aggressive claims management programs, loss prevention initiatives, fraud investigations, and a "no settlement" policy while maintaining low operating costs.
1993
February: LWCC pays off a final start-up loan of $4.5 million before its due date. All start-up loans were obtained from local banks. As a private insurance carrier owned by its policyholders, LWCC has never used taxpayer dollars.
July: LWCC's fraud unit provides evidence necessary to earn its first fraud conviction, prosecuted by the Orleans District Attorney's Office.
August: In less than one year after opening its doors, LWCC reaches a policy count of 30,000 with an estimated annual premium of $246 million.
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1994
March: With assets topping $250 million, LWCC opens a full-service branch office in Metairie.
November: To reward loyal policyholders who had successful safety programs and favorable loss ratios, LWCC initiates Customer Performance Incentives (CPI), or premium credits based on safety results with LWCC.
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1995
January: LWCC begins contracting with health-care providers to create OMNET®, the state's first and largest managed-care network for occupational injuries.
May: LWCC opens its second full-service branch office in Shreveport.
July: After three years without a rate increase, LWCC lowers rates 5 to 20 percent on 15 class codes affecting 60 percent of policyholders.
November: Financial stability prompts LWCC to lower security deposits. More than $20 million is credited to policyholders, and remaining deposits continue to earn them interest.
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1996
April: LWCC kicks off $1,000 reward campaign for tips leading to criminal fraud convictions. The intensive public awareness effort generates more than 200 calls to the Fraud Hotline this spring alone.
June: A loss prevention report shows policyholders with LWCC since 1993 experienced an average 46 percent decrease in their accident rates.
October: LWCC begins writing multistate coverage for policyholders with temporary or permanent operations in other states.
LWCC's number of loss prevention visits tops 15,000 since inception. A study concludes that, on average, policyholders' accident frequency drops more than 40 percent after visits from LWCC loss prevention representatives.
LWCC institutes new claims teams made up of claims representatives, nurses who serve as patient advocates, and return-to-work specialists.
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1997
January: LWCC's educational efforts to help policyholders control their E-mod pay off. An LWCC report indicates that the number of policyholders with E-mods under 1.00 increased 40 percent compared to 1995.
June: LWCC releases drug study indicating that businesses with drug-testing programs have half the number of accidents and their accidents cost 28 percent less than those without programs.
August: LWCC's tax-exempt status is clarified by a federal amendment as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997.
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1998
January: LWCC rolls out a new pricing program, with over 20,000 policyholders seeing a decrease in premiums. More than 80 classes of business see decreases greater than 20 percent.
September: With more than 2,000 participating health-care providers, OMNET® saves more compared to non-network claims and results in fewer lost workdays. OMNET® is LWCC's statewide network of more than 2,000 medical providers.
December: LWCC Interactive is launched, allowing policyholders and agents to access current information about their policies via the Internet.
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1999
July: A package of legislation, establishing the procedures to remove the full faith and credit of the state and ensuring LWCC's long-term stability, passes the Louisiana Legislature in convincing fashion.
An LWCC study shows that workplace accidents have dropped 46 percent since 1993 (LWCC's first full year of operation).
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2000
January: A.M. Best upgrades LWCC's rating to an A- (Excellent).
May: LWCC receives approval from the U.S. Department of Labor to write federal coverage without the state of Louisiana's full faith and credit guarantee. Effective May 1, 2000, the full faith and credit of the state of Louisiana expires, and all provisions outlined in LWCC's 1999 legislative package take effect.
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2001
April: LWCC's new business unit structure is implemented to ensure better coordination and delivery of service to agents, policyholders, and injured workers.
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2002
June: A.M. Best upgrades LWCC's rating to an "A" (Excellent).
September: LWCC is recognized as being one of the top 50 property and casualty insurers in the nation by Ward Group, a Cincinnati-based management consulting firm acknowledged as the leading authority on insurance industry benchmarking. The group chooses LWCC as a Ward's 50 company from over 2,700 property and casualty insurers nationwide that demonstrate a high level of safety, consistency, and performance.
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2003
April: LWCC launches Well@Work.com, a Web site created for injured workers and designed to help them return to work as quickly as possible by offering information on claims and benefits, health and safety tips and other information to help ensure a successful and expedited recovery.
May: LWCC officially goes live with its new policy administration software, PowerComp®, by Taliant Software, LLP.
June: A.M. Best reaffirms LWCC's "A" (Excellent) rating.
August: LWCC creates OMNET® Gold, a new status in the OMNET® program consisting of a select group of providers who have received continuing medical education training by the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, based on its occupational management program model. OMNET® is LWCC's statewide network of more than 2,000 medical providers.
September: LWCC receives the Ward's 50 designation by Ward Group for the second year in a row, recognizing LWCC as being one of the top 50 property and casualty insurers in the nation.
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2004
April: LWCC's board of directors announces its first-ever dividend, returning $10 million to qualifying policyholders.
June: A.M. Best reaffirms LWCC's "A" (Excellent) rating for the third year in a row.
September: LWCC receives the Ward's 50 designation by Ward Group for the third year in a row, recognizing LWCC as being one of the top 50 property and casualty insurers in the nation. The group chose LWCC as a Ward's 50 company from over 2,900 property and casualty companies in the United States.
December: LWCC launches AgencyPort, a system that allows agents to submit new business online.
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2005
June: LWCC pays its second dividend, returning $15.8 million to qualifying policyholders.
August: LWCC receives the Ward's 50 designation by Ward Group for the fourth year in a row, recognizing LWCC as being one of the top 50 property and casualty insurers in the nation.
December: LWCC deploys AgencyPortal's new renewal and endorsement component to selected pilot agencies. For the first time, agents and underwriters are able to automate the renewal and endorsement process in real-time, removing the headaches and errors associated with phone-, paper-, and fax-based processes.
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2006
March: LWCC names Kristin W. Wall as its new president and chief executive officer. Wall was previously president and chief operating officer.
June: LWCC pays a dividend for the third consecutive year, returning $19.6 million to qualifying policyholders. This is believed to be the largest single dividend ever declared in the state of Louisiana by a workers' compensation insurer.
July: LWCC receives the Ward's 50 designation by Ward Group for the fifth year in a row, recognizing LWCC as being one of the top 50 property and casualty insurers in the nation.
November: In recognition of his leadership and lasting contributions to the insurance industry in Louisiana, LWCC establishes the Stephen W. Cavanaugh Scholarship Fund in honor of the company's former president and CEO, who died November 15 of pancreatic cancer.
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2007
January: SafetyNet, a landmark safety and loss prevention management software application, is launched by LWCC. SafetyNet automates the LWCC loss prevention program's workflow and allows safety consultants to better assist policyholders with reducing claims frequency and severity.
April: For the fourth year in a row, LWCC pays a significant dividend to qualifying policyholders. The $23.2 million is believed to be the largest dividend ever paid by a Louisiana workers' compensation insurer.
LWCC's Risk Management Services adopts a new claims-handling organizational structure that more closely aligns with the company's business unit structure, with personnel specializing in different aspects of each claim.
July: For the sixth consecutive year, LWCC is named by the Ward Group as one of the 50 top-performing property-casualty insurers in America.
October: LWCC observes its fifteenth anniversary of providing workers' compensation insurance to Louisiana employers, a milestone in its successful history.
The fourth annual LWCC-Kids' Chance Invitational Golf Tournament raises $37,000 for the Louisiana Bar Foundation's Stephen W. Cavanaugh Scholarship Fund. The event's four-year total of $120,000 is designated for scholarships awarded to dependents of Louisiana employees injured or killed on the job.
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2008
April: LWCC returns to qualifying policyholders its largest dividend to date: $45.5 million.
Greater Baton Rouge Business Report and Junior Achievement recognize LWCC as Company of the Year (in the "over 100 employees" category) at the annual Baton Rouge Business Awards & Hall of Fame banquet.
June: To reinforce its commitment to encouraging safety in the workplace, LWCC launches a stand-alone "microsite"--www.saferplacetowork.com--providing a wealth of centralized safety information for both employers and employees.
July: For the seventh consecutive year, LWCC receives the Ward's 50 designation by Ward Group, recognizing the company as being one of the top 50 property and casualty insurers in the country.
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2009
February: LWCC announces it will pay a $7.5 million dividend to qualifying policyholders, bringing its cumulative total dividend paid to policyholders over the past six years to more than $121 million.
A.M. Best reaffirms LWCC's "A" (Excellent) rating for the eighth year in a row.
July: For the eighth consecutive year, LWCC is selected by Ward Group as one of the 50 top-performing property-casualty insurers in America--this time from over 3,100 property-casualty insurance companies nationwide.
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