(1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that the purpose of this article 67 is to provide a mechanism for the payment of covered claims to workers injured while employed by employers who have failed to obtain and maintain the required workers' compensation insurance and to avoid excessive delay in payment and financial loss to injured workers.(2) Therefore, it is the intent of the general assembly to require employers to maintain workers' compensation insurance and that the requirement be vigorously enforced in order to protect compliant employers from those who would gain a competitive advantage at the expense of the safety and well-being of employees.Added by 2017 Ch. 317,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2017.L. 2017: Entire article added, (HB 17-1119), ch. 317, p. 1697, § 1, effective July 1.