A new name applied by the NAIC, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, to organizations previously known as rating bureaus. This is their effort to more accurately reflect the rate information gathering and policy form development responsibilities that these organizations represent.
Advisory organizations vary from state to state. For example, the largest advisory organization who is used by most states is NCCI, the National Council on Compensation Insurance. They provide workers compensation advisory services to somewhere around 35 states. Here's the other advisory organization:
The Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California
Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau
Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau
Maryland Injured Workers Insurance Fund and NCCI
The Workers' Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau of Massachusetts
Compensation Advisory Organization of Michigan
New Jersey Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau
The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board
North Carolina Rate Bureau
North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance
Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation
Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau
Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
The Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau
Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division
These other workers compensation advisory organizations beat to their own drum. Many are very unique to their specific state. Others are very similar to the NCCI system. Whatever your state, it's these organizations that make rates, calculate experience mods and make suggestions to state politicians as to corrections or modifications in the daily grind of workers compensation.