Poms & Associates Forming Workers Comp Insurance Group

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.Poms & Associates Insurance Brokers Inc. is forming a cooperative group of companies to qualify as a workers compensation self-insurance group (SIG) in California. According to the company, the group will initially consist of contract manufacturing companies, which have the highest workers compensation rates of all companies in the nutraceutical/dietary supplement supply chain; membership may open later to other areas of the industry, such as ingredient suppliers and marketing firms. An SIG can help stabilize long-term rates for members, decrease expenses, improve risk control, protect against fraud and accrue financial interest to the members.

Enabling legislation for selfinsurance groups was passed in California a few years ago, but it has been little utilized because rates have declined remarkably over the past four years, said Greg Doherty, dietary supplement practice leader at Poms & Associates. Now that rates have bottomed out and are climbing, the timing is right for supplement manufacturers to band together and enjoy the advantages of a cooperative.

Dick Griffin, president of Grifcon Enterprises Inc., added, This is a terrific idea that will give supplement manufacturers in California a cost advantage over their competitors through lower workers compensation rates, mirroring the success of selfinsurance groups in other industries.

Griffin will be supporting the efforts of Poms & Associates to form the SIG, tentatively called the Nutritional Industry Self Insured Group (NISIG). Doherty and Griffin will be contacting California manufacturers over the next few months, with the goal of having NISIG operational by early 2010.