Company History
By the late 1980s, Louisiana’s languishing workers’ compensation system posed a crisis for employers, along with the state’s entire business community.
A lack of well leveraged workers’ compensation providers, widespread claims mismanagement and claims fraud had led to skyrocketing rates. While they would have been sound risks in a healthy market, many Louisiana businesses couldn’t buy voluntary workers’ comp coverage and were cast routinely into the assigned-risk pool of noncompetitive and exorbitantly priced policies.
LUBA Workers’ Comp formed in 1991 to give Louisiana employers a dependable and stable alternative for meeting their legal obligation to offer workers’ comp coverage and support employers’ compliance with the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act.
Launching as a group self-insurance fund, LUBA began providing workers’ comp and employers’ liability coverage to Louisiana businesses in 1991 with the core values of competitive pricing, superior customer service and a commitment to improving workplace safety with experienced loss-prevention professionals who work with policyholders to develop custom-tailored safety programs.
In 1994 LUBA became Louisiana’s first workers’ comp provider to return dividends to policyholders. Returns are based on policyholders’ individual claims performance, creating a direct link between employers and their commitment to safety management. Since dividends began, LUBA has returned nearly $32 million to policyholders. In many cases, each return amounts to more than half of policyholders’ annual premium.
In 2003, A.M. Best Co., the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance-rating service, rated LUBA "A- (Excellent),” signifying robust capitalization, proficient underwriting and excellent operating performance. The rating has been affirmed each year since then.
LUBA had become one of the Louisiana’s largest workers’ comp providers when it converted to a casualty insurance company in 2006. The move enabled LUBA to offer even more value and security, as well as a broader range of business classifications – all while keeping its core values.
The latest chapter in LUBA’s history began in 2009 with approval to write policies in Mississippi and Arkansas, transforming the company into a regional workers’ comp insurer. Now a recognized leader in the Gulf South workers’ comp industry, LUBA covers about 4,800 employers with more than $75 million in in-force premiums.
