NSW state insurer icare has written to more than 70,000 workers and plans to send a further 210,000 letters as part of action to correct past workers’ compensation underpayments.

The insurer says it is giving all workers who received weekly payments between October 2012 and October 2019 the opportunity to have sums reassessed and any underpayments rectified.

In the Nominal Insurer scheme it has so far paid $590,870 for 70 workers who were underpaid their weekly entitlements, while in the Treasury Managed Fund work has commenced with government agencies.

A communications campaign to encourage eligible injured workers to request a reassessment has included radio, digital and print advertising, as well as the direct letters.

Deloitte has been engaged to review the process and a cross-agency steering committee consisting of the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, Treasury and icare is overseeing the remediation program.

icare first notified SIRA early last year of errors in weekly payment calculations in a sample of closed workers’ compensation claims.

The errors were found during a review to test the accuracy of the Pre-Injury Average Weekly Earnings calculation from 2012-2018.

Progress on payment remediations was provided in an update on actions to improve performance, governance and culture across icare. Independent reviewer Robert McDougall made recommendations in a report released at the end of April after criticism of the insurer.

icare says change is being undertaken “with the highest priority”, but it will take time to see all of the benefits.