Qualifications to become a self-insuring employer

In order to be granted the privilege of Self-Insurance, an employer must meet several requirements, including:

• Have a minimum of 500 employees in Ohio;
• Have two year's experience with the state insurance fund;
• Operate a BWC-certified Qualified Health Plan (QHP);
• Demonstrate strong financial stability;
• Possess the ability to administer workers' compensation insurance;
• Maintain an account with a financial institution in Ohio, or draw compensation checks from the same account as the payroll checks.
An employer wishing to become self-insured must complete an application and submit it to BWC. The application must include:
• All financial records, documents and data necessary to provide a full financial disclosure (as audited by a certified public accountant);
• A balance sheet and a profit and loss statement for the year and the previous four years;
• An organizational plan for claims processing;
• A proposed plan to inform employees of the change from state fund to self-insured including procedures employees are to follow when filing for compensation and benefits.

Applications for self-insurance are heard by the Self-Insured Review Panel. Once a decision is made the panel signs a resolution either approving or denying the request. If approved, BWC assigns a new policy number to the employer. This number should then be used on all future correspondence with BWC.