Illinois Governor Names Messmore Acting Insurance Director
June 7, 2011 by Jeff Jeffrey
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. June 06 (BestWire) — Following the departure of Illinois
Insurance Director Michael McRaith, who stepped down on June 3 to become the
first director of the newly created Federal Insurance Office, Gov. Pat Quinn has
tapped Jack Messmore to serve as acting director of the State Department of
Insurance.
Messmore, who has worked for the department for 25 years,
most recently served as the insurance department’s chief deputy director. He has
also served as assistant deputy director and examiner-in-charge. He stepped into
the role of acting director on June 3.
McRaith will take over as director
of the FIO on June 13 after serving as Illinois’ top insurance regulator since
2005. McRaith marked his departure with a final victory, seeing the state
legislature pass a highly contested workers’ compensation reform package that
included many provisions he had supported. The bill passed by a 55-39 vote on
May 31 after it appeared to have died in the House when lawmakers voted it down
over the Memorial Day weekend. Lawmakers revived the bill in time for it to pass
both chambers before the end of the legislative session after Illinois Democrats
threatened to pass a separate bill that would have killed the state workers’
compensation system entirely.
Among the changes to the state’s workers’
compensation system included in H.B. 1698, is a measure that would reduce the
fees businesses must pay to doctors by 30%. Supporters of the legislation have
estimated the reduction would save companies between $500 million and $700
million each year.
The bill also sets up a pilot program in which
arbitrators hearing cases related to specific industries would be required to
use American Medical Association guidelines when evaluating the level of
impairment caused by a workers’ injury (BestWeek, June 1, 2011).
Despite
those changes, Michelle Baurkot, an A.M. Best assistant vice president who
follows the workers’ compensation market, said the legislation may not go far
enough in addressing one of the key problems insurers face in Illinois — a
highly unfriendly judicial system where jury awards can vary significantly with
little merit. According to the American Tort Reform Foundation, Illinois’ Cook
County, which encompasses Chicago, is among the nation’s leading “judicial
hellholes” and has become “a magnet for plaintiffs not only from Illinois, but
from all across the country.”
Baurkot said while the AMA guideline
program may help stem the employers’ and insurance carriers’ exposure to large
settlement payments, it may not be enough, given a number of other challenges
facing the state’s workers compensation system (BestWire, June 6,
2011).
Regardless, McRaith said in a June 3 interview with BestWire that
he was “extremely pleased with the contents of the bill,” adding, “It was not
the wish list for any of the interested paries in the discussion. But as a
negotiated bill, it’s a milestone watershed improvement for workers’ comp.”
Quinn has said he will sign H.B. 1698 into law.
(By Jeff Jeffrey, Washington
Correspondent: jeff.jeffrey@ambest.com)BN-NJ-06-06-2011 1557 ET #