California regulators have proposed changing the manner in which insurance companies would collect deductibles for large-deductible workers' compensation policies, drawing criticism from an insurance group.

Steve Suchil, assistant vice president for state affairs for the American Insurance Association, attacked the proposal as being burdensome and unnecessary.

Under current California rules, he said, insurers collect a deposit or collateral from an employer holding a high-deductible workers' comp policy. These deposits are held in pools by the insurance company, he said, but under the proposal, the insurer would have to maintain a separate account for each policy.