Bill Introduced to Eliminate SC Second Injury Fund

A subcommittee of the South Carolina Senate has approved a bill that would eliminate that state's Second Injury Fund by 2013. The Second Injury Fund has been a contentious issue in SC in recent years, with the insurance industry lobbying to eliminate the fund.

The Second Injury Fund assesses charges against insurance companies and self-insured employers to make reimbursements for injury costs to certain workers who have prior injuries--the idea being to encourage employers to hire such workers, in spite of fears that they might be prone to further claims costs due to to those prior injuries.

A recent study by Advanced Insurance Management found that many smaller employers in South Carolina were not receiving any premium savings from the operation of the Second Injury Fund, apparently due to failures on the part of many insurers to report reimbursements received by the fund. The study has led to calls for further review of the NCCI rate information that was used to justify recent rate hike recommendations.

As in many other states, employers in South Carolina remain extremely concerned over the costs of Workers' Compensation, and the issue of the Second Injury Fund has pitted large employers and insurers against small business organizations.