The system, which is making a transition from a government-run program for injured workers to an employer-owned private insurance company, has announced its new name.

Gregory Burton, executive director of the state Workers' Compensation Commission, said the new private mutual company will be called BrickStreet Insurance, and it is expected to offer workers' compensation coverage to state businesses beginning Jan. 1, 2006.

The name harkens back to old Charleston. West Virginia's capital city was the first to have streets made of brick, and that nugget of history was deemed the perfect symbol for the future of workers' compensation in West Virginia.

Burton spoke at the annual Business Summit of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. He said the new mutual will bring a strong sense of stability and an unwavering focus on the future. Much like the strength and stability of brick, the new company will be a starting point for great things, he said.

If all goes as planned, West Virginians soon will leave behind the days when workers' compensation was a constant source of consternation as the system hemorrhaged cash. While the long-standing debt slowly is paid off with a dedicated revenue stream from severance taxes, the company will move forward with a clean slate.

Burton told participants the new company will employ more than 500 people. For the first year, he will serve as president and chief executive officer. After a year, the new board of directors will decide whether to keep Burton or replace him.

Gov. Joe Manchin, who was attending the Business Summit, said privatizing workers' compensation "will help make West Virginia's workers' compensation rate structure fair and competitive."

West Virginia is one of just six states with a monopolistic, state-run workers' compensation system. But that distinction will vanish when the mutual company officially takes the reins. BrickStreet will operate like any other insurance company, subject to the regulatory oversight of the Insurance Commission.

BrickStreet Insurance will be the 15 largest writer of workers' compensation coverage in the country, and it will be one of the largest employers in West Virginia. In addition, the company will have a few years without any private sector competition. West Virginia's workers' compensation market does not open up to the full private market until July 1, 2008.

The new BrickStreet board of directors is as follows:

• Gregory A. Burton, president and CEO of BrickStreet Insurance Co., Charleston;
• Thomas Flaherty, Flaherty Sensabaugh & Bonasso, Charleston;
• David Rader, CEO of the West Virginia Physicians' Mutual Insurance Co., Charleston;
• Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Charleston;
• H. "Skip" Tarasuk Jr., Davis & Tarasuk Insurance, Fairmont; and,
• Steven F. White, Goodwin & Goodwin, Charleston.

The BrickStreet officers, in addition to Burton, are as follows:

• Phillip A. Lynch, vice president for employer services;
• R. Philip Shimer, vice president for operations;
• T.J. Obrokta Jr., vice president and secretary; and,
• Christopher Howat, treasurer.

To keep everyone apprised of the transition to a private mutual workers' compensation insurance company, a series of info meetings for employers, medical providers and claimants is being scheduled for October. Details will be announced in the coming weeks.