FWCJUA Board of Governors Meeting June 9: Recap

The Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association (“FWCJUA”) Board of Governors (“Board”) met via teleconference on June 9, 2009.  Below is a recap of the issues discussed and actions taken.  The Board:

• Agreed to adopt the minutes of the May 1, 2009 meeting.  Further, the respective committees each unanimously agreed to adopt the minutes of their following meetings:
  • The FWCJUA Safety Committee on April 23, 2009; and
  • The FWCJUA Investment Committee on May 27, 2009.
  • Action was taken to approve the minutes of the May 29, 2009, joint and concurrent meeting of the FWCJUA Operations Committee and Rates and Forms Committee with amendments; however, given there was not a quorum of the two Committees present, the action has been invalidated and the minutes will be presented for approval at a later meeting of either the Committees or Board.
• Agreed to adopt the proposed Eighth Amended Bylaws.
• Agreed to confirm the continued holding of the further downgraded Vulcan Materials bond within the FWCJUA’s Investment Portfolio as an authorized Investment Policy exception; and reconfirm the continued holding of the Home Depot bond, the two Anheuser Busch bonds, the two Lehman Brothers bonds, the two SunTrust bonds and the CitiGroup bond within the FWCJUA’s Portfolio as authorized Investment Policy exceptions.
• Agreed to adopt the proposed change to the FWCJUA Investment Policy to formalize the FWCJUA’s current procedures related to the investment manager providing timely notice of security downgrades.
• Agreed to continue the FWCJUA’s relationship with Investment Manager Evergreen as recommended by the Investment Committee.
• Unanimously agreed to authorize an expenditure of $5,000 for the anticipated key initiative related to the reconfiguration of the computer room cooling system and further, to authorize staff to contract with both Aqua Plumbing & Air to install a new mini-split cooling system for the computer room for a fee of $4,035 and Ace Electric to perform the related electrical work for a fee of $965.
• Agreed to authorize a 2009 budget expenditure of $530,000 to implement an on-line interactive application process by January 1, 2010, subject to General Counsel providing a written opinion that the solicitation process used by the FWCJUA met statutory requirements as well as the requirements of the FWCJUA’s Bylaws.
• Agreed to conduct the September 8 and December 8 Board meetings by teleconference as well as the September 8 Annual meeting of the membership, provided the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (“OIR”) approves the revised Bylaws.
• Agreed to authorize staff to finalize the draft letter to OIR outlining the program to eliminate the FWCJUA’s 2008 Subplan D deficit through May actuals and submit the letter no later than August 6, 2009.
• Agreed to confirm booking the 2009 losses utilizing the latest filed rate changes along with the loss ratios indicated from the loss experience evaluated as of December 31, 2008.
• In light of House Bill 903 becoming law, agreed to roll back the April 1, 2009 FWCJUA rates to the January 1, 2009 rates resulting in a 3.7 percent rate level decrease for FWCJUA policyholders, effective July 1, 2009.

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Colodny Fass.

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