Arbitration for Small Businesses

California insurance head supports workers comp arbitration bill

Business Insurance
September 7, 2011

California’s Insurance Commission is encouraging Governor Jerry Brown to sign legislation that would require insurers to issue a warning to workers compensation policyholders that they can negotiate their dispute resolution provisions. Under S.B. 684, insurance providers would have to notify employers in writing whether they will require arbitration to be out-of-state. This has been a problem in the past when employers are left in the dark only to discover that they have to arbitrate the dispute out of state under another state’s laws.

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said, “This bill will create an important protection for California’s employers by no longer allowing insurers to force businesses, small and large, to arbitrate out of state without their foreknowledge and consent. S.B. 684 will ensure that both employers and insurers both freely and mutually agree to terms of the workers’ compensation policy.”

Read Article—