As the end of the financial year looms, changes in the NSW workers compensation system means brokers need to be aware of several things.
LPR CUSTOMERS
Yesterday, NIBA received a notification from icare NSW advising that Loss Prevention & Recovery customers who wish to vary the process of moving across to EML should make that request to icare by close of business today (Wednesday, 21 June).
icare says it had already advised LPR customers they would move across to EML at the next renewal period. This does not apply to existing claims as these will not move to EML.
“To ensure we are able to meet all our customers requests at this very busy time of the year, any variation to this process would require a request to be forwarded to icare for review,” icare’s notice states.
Requests should be emailed to wiemployers@icare.nsw.gov.au.
ICARE PORTAL
The icare portal for transacting workers compensation insurance has been operating since April for new business, but is not yet ready for renewals. As a result, systems and processes are not as efficient as icare had hoped, but substantial effort is being put into getting the portal finalised as quickly as possible. icare expects the remaining functions to be available by the end of 2017, if not before.
Because of these limitations, icare is having difficulty recording details of brokers who have been appointed to act for their employer clients. Existing systems are not able to send copies of renewal documentation to brokers for the time being. This should not be a problem when the full portal arrangements are in place.
NIBA recommends brokers contact icare, and provide lists of the employer clients they currently act for. Wherever possible, the client should be described exactly as recorded in the icare system.
JUNE RENEWALS
icare indicated that all NSW workers compensation insurance renewal documents for June renewals had been sent to employers.
NIBA recommends brokers contact their clients who normally renew their workers compensation insurance in June, and ensure that the renewal documentation has been received and is being processed.
As brokers can see, significant changes are being implemented at the moment and systems and platforms are not fully in place to support them. NIBA strongly urges brokers to follow developments on the icare website and attend any briefings conducted by the agency.