California’s Workers’ Comp Fund Offers Aid

California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund announced Tuesday that it will extend credit to policyholders who have suffered a financial loss or business disruption caused by several wildfires that are ravaging parts of Northern and Southern California. State Fund has more than 100,000 policyholders in the areas.

The fires are spread from as far north as Siskiyou County to Riverside County in Southern California.

By Tuesday, there were seven major fires across the state. The devastation was more severe in the Station Fire which so far has destroyed 18 residences and consumed 121,762 acres in Los Angeles County. Another fire which ravaged 63 homes and businesses near Auburn, was 80 percent contained by Tuesday afternoon.

During a press conference on Tuesday at a command center in Southern California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County in the wake of two major fires that have led to the evacuation of Oak Glen as well as hundreds of other evacuations in nearby Yucaipa.

“We are doing everything we can to save life and save property,” he said, adding “The reason why things are running so well is the coordination between state and local firefighters.”

State Fund will work with policyholders in the devastated areas who are unable to report payroll figures or submit payments as a result of the emergency. State Fund President Janet Frank said, “State Fund recognizes the needs of policyholders when disaster strikes. Our offer of credit relief is one way to help our policyholders and their businesses return to normal operations.”

State Fund has set up dedicated customer service lines to provide assistance to Southern California policyholders whose operations were impacted. Policyholders are encouraged to contact State Fund’s Customer Service Center at (800) 388-0902 to make arrangements for September 2009 payroll reports and payments. This program will be offered to employers through a series of newspaper announcements and mailings to all State Fund policyholders in the affected area.