§33-2-21. Authority of Insurance Commissioner to regulate Workers' Compensation industry; authority of Insurance Commissioner to administer chapter twenty-three of the Code of West Virginia.

(a) Upon the termination of the Workers' Compensation Commission pursuant to chapter twenty-three of this code, the powers and duties heretofore imposed upon the Workers' Compensation Commission as they relate to general administration of the provisions of said chapter are hereby transferred to and imposed upon the Insurance Commissioner.

(b) Unless otherwise specified in chapter twenty-three of this code, upon termination of the Workers' Compensation Commission, the duties imposed upon the Workers' Compensation Commission as they relate to the award and payment of disability and death benefits and the review of claims in articles four and five of said chapter will be imposed upon the Employers Mutual Insurance Company established pursuant to article two-c of said chapter, a private carrier offering Workers' Compensation insurance in this state and self-insured employers. Whenever reference is made to the Workers' Compensation Commissioner in those articles, the duty prescribed shall apply to the Employers Mutual Insurance Company, a private carrier or self-insured employer, as applicable.

(c) From the effective date of this enactment, the Insurance Commissioner shall regulate all insurers licensed to transact Workers' Compensation insurance in this state and all of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to such insurers, unless otherwise exempted by statute.