Marketwatch.com recently posted the disturbing news that small business owners are not fully aware of the financial risks involved in obtaining workers’ compensation insurance through self-insured groups. This is according to the results of the most recent Small Business Opinion Poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) of Princeton, N.J. According to the survey, most small business owners and managers are not aware that they could be legally and financially responsible for the entire costs of workers’ compensation claims owed by their self-insured group. Among the possible financial dangers associated with self-insurance are: failure of the largest company in the group, successive years with serious injuries, and the responsibility for paying out claims for up to five years–even if a small business leaves a group. Self-insured group members also assume “joint and several liability,” sharing liability among members on a pro-rata basis. For example, in a worst case scenario, a small business which pays 8% of the contributions to the trust set up to pay injured workers would, if the trust develops a deficit, be liable for 8% of all injured workers payments for the life of their claims.