Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-77 (2026)
Insurance policy regulations
✓ current as of July 2026
- (1) Every contract for the insurance of the compensation herein provided, or against liability therefor, shall be deemed to be made subject to the provisions of this chapter, and provisions thereof inconsistent with this chapter shall be void. Such contract shall be allowed to offer deductibles on all liability of the assured under and according to the provisions of this chapter, notwithstanding any agreement of the parties to the contrary. However, the payments of the claims, including the deductible amounts, shall be made directly from the insurance company to the employee, except for medical benefits which shall be paid to the medical provider. A copy of such payments shall be forwarded to the employer. The insurance company shall collect the deductible from the employer as shall be provided in the contract between the employer and the insurer. No such policy shall be subject to nonrenewal, or cancelled by the insurer within the policy period, until a notice in writing shall be given to the commission and to the insured, fixing the date on which it is proposed to cancel it or declaring that the company does not intend to renew the policy upon expiration date. Notice to the insured shall be served personally or by registered or certified mail. Notice to the commission shall be provided in such manner and on such form as the commission may prescribe or direct. No such cancellation or nonrenewal shall be effective until thirty (30) days after the service of such notice on the insured and the provision of notice to the commission, unless the employer has obtained other insurance coverage, in which case such policy shall be deemed cancelled as of the effective date of such other insurance, whether or not such notice has been given. The notice requirements of this section shall not apply when a replacement policy form providing the same or substantially similar coverage is issued by the same insurer, or when transfer of an insured to a licensed affiliate providing the same or substantially similar coverage occurs. Whenever a replacement policy form providing the same or substantially similar coverage is issued by the same insurer, or when a transfer of an insured to a licensed affiliate of the insurer providing the same or substantially similar coverage occurs, documents signed by the insured are applicable to the replacement policy and to coverage being transferred, and remain valid and enforceable.
The insured may also cancel such a policy on the day that the insured either (a) returns the policy to the agent, or (b) signs and delivers to the agent a "lost policy release." If the insured desires to cancel a policy before the policy has become effective, he may cancel the policy by written notice of cancellation to the agent or company without return of the policy or a release.
Whenever a replacement policy form providing the same or substantially similar coverage is issued by the same insurer, or by a licensed affiliate insurer, such insurer shall mail or deliver to the policyholder, at least thirty (30) days in advance of the effective date of renewal, written notice of any terms or conditions that are less favorable to the policyholder.
A transferring insurer shall notify the Mississippi Insurance Department and the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission at least forty-five (45) days in advance of notifying a policyholder that its personal or commercial lines insurance policies will be transferred to another licensed insurer within the same insurance group or same holding company. The notice shall include the name of insurer transferring the personal or commercial lines policies and the name and financial rating of the insurer receiving the transferred personal or commercial lines policies.
A transferring insurer shall provide the policyholder written notice of the policy transfer at least thirty (30) days prior to expiration of the policy term and shall include the financial rating of the insurer receiving the transferred policy. Such notice must be provided to the policyholder with the notice of renewal premium at least thirty (30) days before the effective date of the transfer.
- (2) In any case where the employer is not a self-insurer, in order that the liability for compensation imposed by this chapter may be most effectively discharged by the employer and in order that the administration of this chapter in respect of such liability may be facilitated, the commission shall by regulation provide for the discharge, by the carrier or carriers for such employer, of such obligations and duties of the employer in respect of such liability imposed by this chapter upon the employer as it considers proper in order to effectuate the provisions of this chapter. For such purpose (a) notice to or knowledge of an employer of the occurrence of the injury shall be notice to or knowledge of the carrier or carriers; (b) jurisdiction of the employer by the commission or any court under this chapter shall be jurisdiction of the carrier or carriers; and (c) any requirement by the commission or any court under any compensation order, finding, or decision shall be binding upon the carrier or carriers in the same manner and to the same extent as upon the employer.
- (3) As used in this section:
- (a) "Affiliate transfer" is when an insurer transfers, at renewal or policy expiration, its personal or commercial lines insurance policies to an affiliated licensed insurer that is a member of the same insurance group or same holding company as the transferring insurer. The issuance of a replacement policy form providing the same or substantially similar coverage issued by the same insurer, or the transfer of personal or commercial insurance policies to a licensed affiliate insurer that will issue the same or substantially similar policy, are considered a renewal and will not be treated as a cancellation or nonrenewal. The affiliate transfer must be to a licensed affiliate insurer that has been determined by the commissioner to have the same or better financial strength as the transferring insurer. The policy transfer must be selected on a nondiscriminatory basis.
- (b) "Substantially similar" means a policy that provides the same basic coverages but may add, alter or eliminate incidental coverages and may provide coverages using different textual language.
Codes, 1942, § 6998-39; Laws, 1948, ch. 354, § 33; Laws, 1972, ch. 396, § 1; reenacted, Laws, 1982, ch. 473, § 39; reenacted without change, Laws, 1990, ch. 405, § 41; Laws, 1992, ch. 577, § 5; Laws, 2007, ch. 366, § 1, eff. 7/1/2007.
Amended by Laws, 2018, ch. 312, SB 2311,§ 4, eff. 7/1/2018.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1994–2024 · leading case: Vance v. Twin River Homes, Inc., 641 So. 2d 1176 (Miss. 1994).
Vance v. Twin River Homes, Inc., 641 So. 2d 1176 (Miss. 1994). “("Twin River"), and the carrier, The Travelers Insurance Company, was not effectively cancelled pursuant to the terms of Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-77 (1989); therefore, the on-the-job injury of James R.”
Amfed Nat'l Ins. Co. v. NTC Transp., Inc., 196 So. 3d 947 (Miss. 2016). “This Court is in agreement with the trial court that AmFed’s renewal notice was “insufficient notification of AmFed’s intent not to renew the policy for failure to timely pay premium because AmFed failed to strictly comply with the requirements of Miss.Code Ann. 71-3-77 by…”
Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Holliman, 765 So. 2d 564 (Miss. Ct. App. 2000). “Liberty Mutual mailed a notice of cancellation to Resource One, but the notice was not sent by registered mail as required by Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-77 (Rev.1995). However, Liberty Mutual maintained that the cancellation was valid and effective under the statute because Resource…”
Cooper v. Marathon Freight Lines, Inc., 635 So. 2d 855 (Miss. 1994). “While we affirm the award of benefits to Cooper, we find that the Commission was clearly erroneous in its determination that Commercial Union had provided effective notice of cancellation to its assured and the Commission, as required by Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-77 (1989), and…”
Gill v. Matlack, Inc., 671 So. 2d 395 (La. Ct. App. 1995). “[6] Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-77 (1992) sets forth insurance policy regulations for worker's compensation insurance and provides as follows: (1) Every contract for the insurance of the compensation herein provided, or against liability therefor, shall be deemed to be made subject to…”
Simpson v. Dale E. Saunchegrow Constr., 965 S.W.2d 899 (Mo. Ct. App. 1998). “1994) (Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-77 (1989), mandated that no cancellation shall be effective until thirty (30) days after service of such notice); Travelers Ins.”
Washington v. Tem's Junior, Inc., 981 So. 2d 1047 (Miss. Ct. App. 2008). “1953); see Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-77(1) (Supp.2007) (deeming contracts for workers’ compensation subject to the provisions of the Act, with inconsistent contractual provisions to be void, but permitting such contracts to offer deductibles on the assured’s liability under and…”
Am. Comp. Ins. Co. v. Ruiz (N.D. Miss. 2022). “See Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-77 . Therefore, regardless of whether Appalachian was required to review and diary phone surveys under generally accepted industry standards, the coverage outcome would still be the same in this case because ACIC would not have been able to effectively…”
Washington v. Tem's Junior, Inc., 981 So. 2d 1047 (Miss. Ct. App. 2008). “2007) (deeming contracts for workers' compensation subject to the provisions of the Act, with inconsistent contractual provisions to be void, but permitting such contracts to offer deductibles on the assured's liability under and according to the chapter).”
Am. Comp. Ins. Co. v. Hector Ruiz, Doing Bus. As Los Primoz Constr.; Raul Aparacio; Jesco, Inc.; & Appalachian Underwriters, Inc. (Miss. 2024). “Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-77 (1) (Rev. 2021).”
Knight Props., Inc. v. Sanders, 77 So. 3d 522 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011). “See Miss Code Ann. § 71-3-77 (Supp.2010). It thus found that Sanders did, in fact, have workers’ compensation coverage, and it ordered First Comp to assume responsibility for future payments to the injured employee.”
— Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-77(1) — 4 cases
Amfed Nat'l Ins. Co. v. NTC Transp., Inc., 196 So. 3d 947 (Miss. 2016). “This Court is in agreement with the trial court that AmFed’s renewal notice was “insufficient notification of AmFed’s intent not to renew the policy for failure to timely pay premium because AmFed failed to strictly comply with the requirements of Miss.Code Ann. 71-3-77 by…”
Washington v. Tem's Junior, Inc., 981 So. 2d 1047 (Miss. Ct. App. 2008). “1953); see Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-77(1) (Supp.2007) (deeming contracts for workers’ compensation subject to the provisions of the Act, with inconsistent contractual provisions to be void, but permitting such contracts to offer deductibles on the assured’s liability under and…”
Washington v. Tem's Junior, Inc., 981 So. 2d 1047 (Miss. Ct. App. 2008). “2007) (deeming contracts for workers' compensation subject to the provisions of the Act, with inconsistent contractual provisions to be void, but permitting such contracts to offer deductibles on the assured's liability under and according to the chapter).”
Am. Comp. Ins. Co. v. Ruiz (N.D. Miss. 2022). “See Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-77 . Therefore, regardless of whether Appalachian was required to review and diary phone surveys under generally accepted industry standards, the coverage outcome would still be the same in this case because ACIC would not have been able to effectively…”
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