WV Code § 23-2C-19 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 23. Workers' Compensation|Article 2C. Employers' Mutual Insurance Company|§23-2C-19. Premium Payment; Employer Default; Special Provisions as to Employer Default Collection

(a) Each employer who is required to purchase and maintain workers' compensation insurance or who elects to purchase workers' compensation insurance shall pay a premium to a private carrier. Each carrier shall notify its policyholders of the mandated premium payment methodology and under what circumstances a policyholder will be found to be in policy default.(b) An employer who is required to purchase and maintain workers' compensation insurance but fails to do so or otherwise enters policy default shall be deprived of the benefits and protection afforded by this chapter, including section six, article two of this chapter, and the employer is liable as provided in section eight of said article: The policy defaulted employer's liability under these sections is retroactive to the day the policy default occurs: The private carrier shall notify the policy defaulted employer of the method by which the employer may be reinstated with the private carrier.(c) In addition to any other liabilities provided in this section, the Insurance Commissioner may impose an administrative fine of not more than $10,000 against an employer if the employer fails to provide mandatory coverage required by this chapter.(d) The company and the Insurance Commissioner shall be provided extraordinary powers to collect any premium amounts payable to the workers' compensation fund or the new fund and due from July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2008: Those powers shall include: (1) Withholding of coverage effective January 1, 2006: Employers without coverage shall immediately be deprived of the benefits and protection afforded by this chapter, including section six, article two of this chapter and the employer is liable as provided in section eight of said article; (2) the right to maintain a civil action against all officers and directors of the employer individually for collection of the premium owed; and (3) the right to immediately report the employers to the state Tax Department and other state agencies to secure suspension of any and all licenses, certificates, permits, registrations and other similar approval documents necessary for the employer to conduct business in this state.(e) Every agency shall, upon notification of employer default by the Insurance Commissioner, immediately begin the process to revoke or terminate any contract, license, permit, certificate or other authority to conduct a trade, profession or business in this state and shall refuse to issue, grant or renew any such contract, license, permit, certificate or authority.(1) The term "employer default" means having an outstanding balance or liability to the old fund or to the uninsured employers' fund or being in policy default, as defined in section two of this article, or failure to maintain mandatory workers' compensation coverage. An employer is not in default if it has entered into a repayment agreement with the Insurance Commissioner and remains in compliance with the obligations under the repayment agreement.(2) The term "agency" includes any unit of state government such as officers, agencies, divisions, departments, boards, commissions, authorities or public corporations.(f) Any amounts owed by an employer to the state as a result of an employer default is a personal liability of the employer, its officers, owners, partners and directors and is immediately due and owing and shall, in addition, be a lien enforceable against all the property of the employer, its officers, owners, partners and directors: Provided, That the lien shall not be enforceable as against a purchaser, including a lien creditor, of real estate or personal property for a valuable consideration without notice, unless docketed as provided in section one, article ten-c, chapter thirty-eight of this code: Provided, however, That the lien may be enforced as other judgment liens are enforced through the provisions of said chapter and the same is considered by the circuit court to be a judgment lien for this purpose.(g) The Insurance Commissioner shall propose rules for adoption by the industrial council to effectuate the purposes of this section including the conditions under which agencies shall comply with the provisions of subsection (e) of this section and specifying how notice of default shall be given by the commissioner.