Insurance Letter 553

Purpose

To communicate to insurance carriers regarding the 2025 supplemental benefit reimbursement assessment rate. This includes information regarding deadlines and to remind insurance carriers that interest will accrue on all unpaid balances after 30 days. The Worker’s Compensation Supplemental Benefit Reimbursement Assessment is issued annually. The prevous supplemental benefit reimbursement assessment, which covered requests submitted to the Department in calendar year 2024, was issued on February 3, 2025.

The current supplemental benefit assessment is for reimbursement requests submitted to the Department in calendar year 2025 for payment on claims made in 2024. Insurance carriers were provided time to submit reimbursement requests through December 31, 2025, resulting in assessments being issued the following calendar year.

Background

Under s. 102.44 (1) (c), Wis. Stats., as amended by 2015 Wis. Act 55, the Work Injury Supplemental Benefit Fund (WISBF) no longer makes reimbursement payments to insurance carriers and self-insured employers for injuries that occur on or after January 1, 2016.

Section 102.75 (1g), Wis. Stats., authorizes the Department to assess and collect costs for the reimbursement of supplemental benefits payments made on claims for injuries occurring on or before December 31, 2015.

The maximum amount the Department will assess and collect in a calendar year is $5,000,000. If the total amount reimbursable in a calendar year exceeds $5,000,000, the Department will collect the maximum payable of $5,000,000 that year and collect the excess in the next calendar year, (subject to the $5,000,000 maximum), or in subsequent calendar years.

The Department will approve and pay a claim for supplemental benefit reimbursement no later than 16 months after the end of the year in which the supplemental benefit reimbursement claim was received by the Department, subject to the $5,000,000 annual maximum. Pursuant to 2025 Wisconsin Act 145, which took effect April 1, 2026, insurance carriers now must file all claims for supplemental benefit reimbursement using the Department's updated Insurer Portal. Carriers must complete and electronically submit the Supplemental Payments Reimbursement Request Form, WKC-140-E, no later than 12 months after the end of the year in which the supplemental benefits were paid. This form is available at https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/wc/insurance/assess-program.htm.

Reimbursement claims received by the Department are being paid in chronological order of receipt, subject to the $5,000,000 annual maximum.

The revenue funding supplemental benefit reimbursements is from annual assessments on each insurance carrier based on the same indemnity amount that is used for that insurer in the annual administrative assessment for the Department's operations fund. Each company's indemnity amount is determined by summing the amounts paid for each claim "first closed" in the previous calendar year. Indemnity includes payments for temporary total and partial disability, permanent total and partial disability, compromises, death benefits and funeral expenses, paid holidays, supplemental benefits, disfigurement, and vocational rehabilitation.

Each company's assessment amount is determined by multiplying its 2024 "first closed" claims total indemnity payments by the rate indicated. Each company's claim detail listing is available by clicking "Insurer Portal - Assessment Reports" at: https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/wc/insurance/assess-program.htm. This report is accessed through a secured site requring MyWisconsin ID, password, and MFA.

The Worker’s Compensation Supplemental Benefit Reimbursement Assessment rate is calculated by dividing the current total amount reimbursable (up to a maximum of $5,000,000) by the total indemnity payments from insurance carriers for claims "first closed" in the previous calendar year. For 2025, the current total amount collectible is $2,573,549.35 divided by the total insurance carrier indemnity paid for 2024 "first closed" claims total of $244,983,205 generates a Supplemental Benefit Reimbursement Assessment rate of 1.05%, rounded up to avoid a shortfall.

Action Requested

Payment of your organization's 2025 Supplemental Benefit Assessment invoice.

Payment Submission Options

Checks payable to DWD-Bureau of Finance (See invoice for remittance address)
ACH (electronic) payment instructions may be requested at the email address, below.

Inquiries

Send to: WCASSESSMENT@dwd.wisconsin.gov: Please do not include email attachments; attachments sent to any WC general email box are automatically removed.

You may reach us by phone: Lynn Weinberger at (608) 405-4600.

Enclosure

Invoice*

* Invoices may be requested via email. Please request by emailing WCASSESSMENT@dwd.wisconsin.gov and providing your preferred email address and names of all organizations for whom you process payments. Please do not include email attachments; attachments sent to general email boxes are automatically deleted.

Reference

Claim detail listing is available on the Administrative Assessments page (https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/wc/insurance/assess-program.htm) Insurer Portal – Assessment Reports using MyWisconsin ID). If you have not logged into the new Insurer Portal, you must create a MyWisconsin Logon ID and use a multi-factor authentication (MFA) method to access the Assessment Detail. Follow instructions in the WC Insurer Portal – Security Instructions (https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/wc/insurance/pdf/insurer-portal-security-instructions.pdf) to create your MyWisconsin ID and set up MFA.

Refer to 2025 Wisconsin Act 145 (https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/related/acts/145) or the or the Plain Language Summary (https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/wc/legal/pls-2026-ammendments.htm) for more information about changes affecting WC supplemental benefits eligibility and other details.