Winter 2004

Other States Coverage and
Other States Endorsements

Some Texas employers need coverage for permanent incidental operations in other states. Others may need coverage for Texas employees working temporarily in other states.

The first example needs a policy for other states coverage. The second example needs an other states endorsement to its Texas Mutual^® policy.

Other states coverage
Because our license only permits us to provide workers’ compensation coverage in Texas, we have partnered with Argonaut Insurance Company to offer workers’ comp coverage for Texas-based businesses with permanent incidental operations in other states. Under the terms of this agreement, we will not provide other states coverage for employee leasing companies, temporary employee providers, or Texas Mutual^® Start accounts.

“Our agreement with Argonaut lets us help a broader range of Texas employers who may have difficulty finding workers’ compensation coverage for their employees who work outside the state,” said Ken Lauber, Texas Mutual^® vice president of field operations. “This way, we can offer one-stop shopping for these qualifying businesses.”

Eligibility
Most states are eligible for other states coverage through the arrangement with Argonaut. The only exceptions are California, Kentucky and New York, and the so-called “monopolistic states” of North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Florida is eligible for other states coverage; however, you should be aware that Florida requires the use of a special ACORD^® application that the agent and owner/officer must sign and have notarized.

Texas Mutual Insurance Company will offer you a quote when you use the standard application, but we will require you to complete and submit the Florida application within 30 days of the policy effective date. Your Texas Mutual^® underwriter can get you a copy of the Florida application.

To avoid confusion, the other states policy’s expiration date will coincide with the expiration date on the policyholder’s Texas policy.

Domiciled details
An applicant for our other states program must be a Texas-based policyholder. Up to 35 percent of the policyholder’s total governing class payroll can be outside Texas, regardless of the number of other states in which coverage is needed. If the applicant needs coverage in only one state outside Texas, you can click here to find the maximum for the individual state.

If the policyholder’s entire governing class payroll exceeds the maximum allowable, we will not quote the account in our other states program. Of course, we will still quote the Texas portion of the policyholder’s governing class payroll.

Underwriting guidelines
We cannot accept blanket waivers for other states coverage in New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania or Tennessee. We calculate the charge for blanket waivers, where available, on a per-state basis.

The minimum charge for blanket or specific waivers is $100 per state or 2 percent of premium. The charge applies to each location where we provide a waiver, subject to the state minimum premium charge.

Additionally, we will provide coverage for known exposures at a physical location; however, we will not write policies on an “if any” basis. If no fixed locations or payroll currently exist, we will use $1,000 minimum payroll in the same governing class code as the Texas policy. In this instance, all premium is earned at policy inception.

Endorsements
Texas Mutual Insurance Company also offers other states endorsements for Texas-based employers that temporarily take Texas employees to other states.

“The other states endorsement provides reimbursement for expenses incurred to meet other states’ workers’ compensation laws,” said Lauber. “Unfortunately, the laws in the monopolistic states (North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming) do not permit any insurance carrier to use this method. These states require workers’ comp coverage through a single entity in each state.”

You may submit an other states endorsement by downloading the Supplemental Application — Other States Endorsement.

More info
For more information about other states coverage or other states endorsements, call (800) 859-5995 to speak with an information specialist, or click here.

Back to Table of Contents

Texas Mutual^® is a registered service mark of
Texas Mutual Insurance Company.