Annual premiums won't cover costs. Their ready-market philosophy is unaffected by policy size or remoteness of location. They strive to meet the needs of their entire market. Not having stockholder profit objectives to satisfy, many use some of their assets to lower customer costs. Mission and good intentions aside, state fund market shares are shaped more by commercial carriers than by anything else.
Commercial carriers flourish in soft markets.
Out of necessity to maintain suitable profit margins, they become more selective and less prominent in hard markets. When that happens, state funds naturally write a larger share of the available business. Market Conditions Data and analyses by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, the industry's data-gathering leader, and evidence from several state funds confirm that the market is hardening. Indicators and Results. Prominent commercial carriers in the market track these trends.