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Roads West12/19/2003
on stating the terms and conditions under which Wexford would issue a policy to TTC. The quotation stated the type of insurance was "Excess Workers Compensation and Employers Liability," and the states of coverage were those where "the insured is a qualified self insurer for Workers Compensation." Caffrey said he issued a binder for the policy. The binder stated the type of insurance was "Excess Workers Compensation and Employers Liability," with the insured's retention set at $1,000,000.00 per occurrence for workers' compensation claims. It included Oklahoma in the listing of states of coverage, but stated, "Coverage provided under this policy will only apply to those states where the Insured is a qualified self-insured."
Caffrey sent certificates of insurance to the states listed on the binder, including Oklahoma. The certificate sent to the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Court stated CNA had issued an excess insurance policy to TTC effective from May 24, 2001 to May 24, 2002.
Caffrey testified he later learned TTC was not a qualified self-insured in any state. Based on CNA's instructions, he sent letters to TTC and its broker notifying them the policy was being rescinded and the premium would be refunded. Wexford sent a check for the refunded premium to the broker. Caffrey sent a notice of rescission to the Oklahoma court on June 29, 2001, and the court received it on July 5, 2001.
The workers' compensation court has exclusive jurisdiction to determine and enforce a compensation risk carrier's liability to a claimant. Its jurisdiction necessarily "includes cognizance to decide the central issue--whether at the time of the claimant's injury a contractual relationship subsisted between the employer, qua insured, and its insurer." State Ins. Fund v. Brooks, 1988 OK 50, 755 P.2d 653, 657. The court may interpret and construe the policy incident to its determination of liability, but it has no power to reform a workers' compensation insurance policy. Mid-Continent Cas. Co. v. Miller, 1969 OK 2, 451 P.2d 932, 933.
Insurance is a contract, and the relationship between the insured and insurer is contractual in nature. Silver v. Slusher, 1988 OK 53, 770 P.2d 878, 883. The essential elements of an insurance contract are the same as for any other contract. In order to create a contract of insurance, there must be a meeting of the minds of the contracting parties upon all the material terms and provisions of the contract. Niagara Fire Ins. Co. v. Aebischer,1934 OK 684, 169 Okla. 551, 44 P.2d 5, 7. The parties are free to agree upon the terms of the contract and may limit or restrict an insurer's liability. However, under Oklahoma law, insurance policies are issued pursuant to statutes, and the provisions of those statutes are given force and effect as if written into the policy. Shepard v. Farmers Ins. Co., Inc.,1983 OK 103, 678 P.2d 250, 251.
Pursuant to the estoppel act of the Workers' Compensation Code, 85 O.S.2001 ยง65.2 and 65.3 , " n insurer who has collected premiums under a workers' compensation policy computed on claimant's wages is estopped to deny the insured's status as a covered employer." Muscogee (Creek) Nation v. Smith, 1997 OK 66, 940 P.2d 498, 501. The purpose of the estoppel act is to "prevent both an employer's and an employee's ensnarement in the false belief that compensation has been provided, only later to discover the purchased protection to be unavailable." Little v. Muscogee (Creek) Nation,1997 OK 57, 938 P.2d 739, 744. If, at the time of a claimant's injury, an insurer accepted premiums computed on a claimant's wages under a policy insuring the employer against liability under the Workers' Compensation Act, the insurance contrac
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