Overview
To understand Sigma-One, you must first understand the concept of self-insurance.
Self-Insurance is a way of providing legally mandated workers' compensation insurance coverage as an alternative to "conventional" insurance.
Larger companies can be independently self-insured and are referred to as stand-alone self-insureds. Smaller and medium sized companies in like businesses can join together to form self-insurance groups (also known as trusts or "SIGS"). In a self-insurance group, smaller companies are able to achieve the benefits that larger companies normally see from being self-insured. These benefits include: better control over your workers' comp program, stability of rates, and higher levels of service, all of which lead to cost savings.
There are currently nine self-insurance groups in the state of NH. Two of them are for cities and towns, leaving 7 commercial trusts for different business groups. Sigma-One represents a group of manufacturing companies that have come together to better manage their claims costs, participate in more proactive loss control, and overall take control of their workers' compensation future.
Sigma-One is a not-for-profit corporation owned by its Member companies. Members don't buy insurance from the group, but rather apply for Membership in the group, where workers' compensation coverage is the primary benefit to being a member in the group. In effect, you are buying your workers' compensation insurance from yourself.
The Sigma-One Self-Insurance Group has been managed by Comp-Sigma Ltd. of Concord, NH since 1995. Comp-Sigma Ltd. is a licensed third party administrator in the state of NH, and is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Sigma-One Trust.
