How To Buy WC insurance and How To Access The Tennessee Residual Market

Buy Workers’ Compensation Insurance and Access The Tennessee Residual Market 

Tennessee has a voluntary competitive workers’ compensation market comprised of around four hundred (400) companies licensed to sell workers' compensation insurance.  Most of these companies sell their product through independent agents.  The largest single carrier has less than a five percent (5%) market share.  You can find the TN Market Share Report listed under “Market Share Information” on our website - Workers' Compensation Information. 

To obtain Workers’ Compensation coverage in Tennessee, your first step will be to see if coverage in the voluntary market. You or your insurance agent will need to submit applications to carriers for coverage. If you have any other commercial insurance (commercial automobile or general liability), it is helpful to first contact the insurance agent who sold you those lines.  Often, that agent will be able to place your coverage with a company the agent represents.  This is to your advantage because you have an established credit history with the agent.  Sometimes you can get the insurance company to issue a "business package" that may also include workers' compensation coverage.   

If you have been rejected for WC coverage by two (2) or more non-affiliated workers’ compensation insurance companies writing in Tennessee and are unable to obtain coverage through the voluntary market, you are eligible to seek coverage through the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan (WCIP), or what is commonly known as the residual market. You or your agent may complete an application for Tennessee’s WCIP, which is managed by our rate service organization, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). Any licensed agent can place your business in the WCIP.  To apply, you will need to contact NCCI by calling 800-NCCI-123 (800-622-4123) or by accessing the plan administrator at https://ncci.com. To be eligible for coverage through the residual market, you must not have any undisputed workers’ compensation premium owed to a previous insurance company, and you must comply with all reasonable workplace safety recommendations.

There are currently ten (10) companies that process policies and claims for Tennessee’s WCIP. These companies are AmGuard, LM Corporation, Travelers Property Casualty Co of America, Accident Fund, Ace American, American Zurich, Auto Owners, Builders Mutual, Continental Casualty, and Hartford Underwriters.  Business assigned to AMGUARD, LM Corporation, and Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America, also known as Servicing Carriers, is reinsured through the National Workers Compensation Reinsurance Association.  The remaining carriers are referred to as Direct Assignment Carriers, who assume the individual risk of writing coverage.   

If your current coverage is in the WCIP, you can pursue coverage elsewhere in the voluntary market at any time.  If you find an insurer outside of the residual market that is willing to take your coverage, you will be subject to a minimum premium for the period of time your policy was in force, but you will not suffer a short-rate cancellation penalty for breaking the residual market insurance contract before it expires.   

If you have questions, please contact your agent or the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance at 615-532-1481.