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Affinity Group Administrators is an administrative and consulting company that specializes in the design, implementation and management of self-insurance programs for groups of employers (through self-insured groups a.k.a. “SIGs”) or individual employers in California.
With headquarters in Fair Oaks, California, Affinity Group Administrators is not an insurance brokerage, but an administrative company responsible for the design, creation, and implementation of Group and Individual Self-Insurance programs. We have the technical expertise necessary to implement programs for employers of all sizes.
Why Consider Self-Insurance?
- Control over cost of risk
- More control over claims
- Lower administrative costs
- Fewer claims due to better loss control
- Improved cash flow
- Product availability
Since California law requires employers to compensate employees for work related injuries, most employers comply by purchasing workers' compensation insurance from a traditional insurance company.
Self-insurers must comply with those same workers' compensation laws. An approved Third-Party Administrator (TPA) must be used to administer claims and comply with California workers’ compensation law. The difference with self-insureds is they've taken the responsibility for paying their own claims and actively participate in the administration process.
Whatever the reasons, more and more employers in California have decided they can benefit by taking this responsibility into their own hands than by purchasing workers' compensation coverage from an insurance company.
Potential self-insureds, group or individual, have three primary concerns:
- What do we know about handling workers' compensation claims?
- What happens If we have a real bad claim; won't we go broke?
- What about Joint and Several Liability?
Most self-insurers do not handle their own claims. Third Party Administrators (TPA’s) who specialize in providing claims administration are hired to administer their claims. The TPA will have regular and frequent contact with the injured worker and report to you, the Self-Insured Group. The TPA works for the self-insured and SIG, not the insurance company.
There are two ways a self-insured can suffer from poor loss experience: 1) a single large claim; or 2) an unusually large number of claims during a year. To limit the amount paid out in those situations, most self-insureds purchase excess insurance. This coverage protects you from the unexpected catastrophic single loss (Specific) or the unexpected frequency or number of claims (Aggregate).
Through the use of the TPA claim experts, the proper structuring of the Specific and Aggregate Reinsurance program, conservative actuarial valuations and projections, strict financial requirements of the members of a SIG, and the annual auditing of the results, the exposure to Joint and Several Liability is significantly reduced.
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