NCCI Announces IAIABC EDI -- Proof of Coverage Certification.

Business Editors

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 10, 2000

The National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) today announced that the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) has formally certified NCCI as an approved vendor to provide Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Proof of Coverage services in the internationally endorsed IAIABC format. NCCI's unique EDI Proof of Coverage system, known as IPOC(SM) service, was developed to provide rapid electronic exchange of coverage information without human intervention. States currently receiving daily IPOC(SM) services are Idaho, Utah, Indiana, Nevada and Mississippi.

NCCI's IPOC(SM) service provides reliable electronic delivery of critical workers compensation policy information to state Departments of Labor, Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions. It improves the speed of information exchange and eliminates redundant reporting for insurers. IPOC(SM) service customer Larry Williams of the Utah Labor Commission reports, "The implementation of NCCI's IPOC(SM) service together with the deployment of a fully automated compliance system in Utah has resulted in significant improvement in timeliness and quality of the coverage data from Utah insurers." Christi Simon of the Idaho Industrial Commission states, "Idaho's experience with the electronic reporting of workers compensation policy data has been a very positive one and we are especially pleased with the performance of NCCI's IPOC(SM) system. We are now able to capture expanded policy data in a more efficient and accurate manner. It is a definite improvement over hard copy reporting and eliminates duplicate reporting by insurance carriers."

NCCI currently provides several versions of Proof of Coverage services to 22 state agencies responsible for monitoring workers compensation insurance coverage.

"This certification represents a significant achievement for NCCI as we remain firmly committed to addressing the needs of our customers and constituents in the workers compensation marketplace," said NCCI President and CEO Bill Schrempf. "Given the IAIABC certification, we will move expeditiously to introduce individual states to the IPOC(SM) service and we will stand ready to address their suggestions and observations as we continue to increase NCCI's value to our customers."

In the fourth quarter of 1999, NCCI responded to industry requests and made a corporate commitment to expand POC services to provide an EDI product that conforms to the IAIABC standard. IPOC(SM) service was completed under the terms of an aggressive schedule in October, tested in the field with the assistance of the Idaho Industrial Commission and a large national insurer, and installed in production on October 7, 1999.

Of 22 current NCCI-contracted POC states, 5 states receive data in the IAIABC POC format.

NCCI's IPOC service offers the following benefits to the industry:

--   Maintains and transmits the insured names and addresses on the
     employer records to IPOC(SM) service states as reported and
     linked by insurers
--   Applies value-added state-specific suppression conditions to
     policy data based on individual preference of each state
--   Enhances availability of timely coverage information to states by
     transmitting IPOC(SM) files daily to states, as opposed to the
     traditional POC-format file that is received by the states once
     or twice a month
--   Provides electronic access to all IAIABC POC reports, including
     additional IAIABC POC Coverage Data Provider reports through
     www.ncci.com

NCCI also provides data collection and storage services to data providers -- eliminating redundant reporting of POC information to states.

IPOC(SM) service provides a number of application-specific services designed to meet the individual needs of participating states. For further information regarding NCCI's new IPOC(SM) service, contact Proof of Coverage Project Manager Linda Presutti at 561-997-4719. For general information about NCCI, contact Chief Communications Officer James Wolfe at 561-997-4749.

NCCI, a shared-services organization serving the workers compensation industry, offers a comprehensive array of products and services that enable insurers and other stakeholders to access and use workers compensation data to establish accurate loss costs, calculate experience rating modifications, manage residual market mechanisms and reduce overall costs.