The New York Workers' Compensation Board has told two under-funded self-insurance trusts that insure plant employees and social workers to shut down, but no further closures are expected, a spokesman said yesterday.
In October, Mary Beth Woods, the board's director of licensing said that its 2001 tightened guidelines for reserving had put some 30 self-insurance trusts in the under-funded category, but only "a handful" were of real concern.
Board spokesman Jon Sullivan said yesterday that after ordering Manufacturing Industry WC Self-Insurance Trust and Provider Agency Trust for Human Services to close, "at this point we don't anticipate anything more."
Mr. Sullivan said that both funds will expire in March 2006 "and members of their fund will have to obtain coverage in another way."
The Manufacturing trust, which includes producers of plastics, corrugated cardboard, metal stampings, metal fabrication and furniture, has 102 members, 39 of which are inactive.
Human Services insures vocational rehabilitation centers, social service agencies and human service agencies and has 46 active members and 25 inactive members, Mr. Sullivan said.
Ms. Woods has said that for most of the funds listed as under-reserved the discrepancy is minimal. Funds, she said, have to meet a 90 percent of liability ratio, and are classified as under-funded even if they are at 89.4 percent of liability.
Some trusts, according to the board, have issued assessments to their members in order to solidify their reserves.
When a trust is under-funded, a notice to members is recommended and the board mandates such a notification when the situation is serious. Ms. Woods said there were "just a couple where we required them to send out a specific letter."
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