Okla.’s Child Support Data Exchange Law Goes into Effect Nov. 1

The Oklahoma Insurance Department issued a reminder that a new state law compelling Child Support data exchange for workers’ compensation, personal injury and wrongful death claims has a fast-approaching Nov. 1 deadline

The law contains a provision that directly affects workers’ compensation, wrongful death and personal injury awards. This new law changes insurers’ relationship with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services’ (OKDHS) Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED), division officials said.

“This statute compels Oklahoma insurers to share information with CSED on payouts of more than $500 to determine if the claimant owes child support before making payments on these types of claims,” said Ronald Smith, CSED programs manager. “If the insured owes child support, this process culminates with the interception of payments.”

OKDHS CSED is publicizing the enactment of a new law at Oklahoma Statute Title 56 Section 237B because insurers that flagrantly refuse to exchange information could face a $10,000 fine per occurrence for failing to do so.

To carry out this matching process CSED will interface with insurers electronically. This involves an Internet Portal (IP), data matching File Transfer Protocol (FTP), or release of the data from an insurance industry database to a CSED designee. To begin, CSED is requesting that insurers authorize the Insurance Services Office Inc. (ISO) to release data to the Child Support Lien Network (CSLN). They can accommodate the fast-approaching deadline, as it already serves the majority of the United States.

For more information on the new law, visit the Oklahoma Insurance Department Web site at www.oid.state.ok.us/ or contact Ronald Smith at Ronald.Smith@OKDHS.org or (405)-522-2576.

Source: Oklahoma Department of Insurance