Flash: 2021 Rates Are Out: Lara Rejects COVID-19 Surcharge
Published: November 25, 2020
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is going against the insurance industry in his 2021 pure premium rate decision. It is a victory for employers. What actions is he taking and how will it affect the rates you pay next year? Get the story here. Workers’ Comp Executive
Colorado: Pinnacol to lower rates in 2021
Pinnacol Assurance has announced plans to lower rates an average of 6 percent for its more than 57,000 policyholders in Colorado. The rate change is expected to total nearly $30 million in lower premiums and will take effect January 1. Pinnacol Assurance has lowered rates for six straight years. The Business Times
Virginia: Maryland workers’ comp award no bar to personal injury suit
A Virginia court has ruled a plaintiff may sue for personal injuries arising from an automobile accident in Virginia even though he was awarded workers’ compensation in Maryland. Both the plaintiff and defendant were Maryland residents and worked for the same Maryland employer. Virginia Lawyers Weekly [may require registration]
Owners of Minnesota drywall company sentenced for workers’ comp scheme
A husband and wife owners of a defunct Clearwater, Minnesota drywall company have been sentenced to six months of house detention for failing to cover their employees with workers’ compensation insurance and mischaracterizing dozens of them as independent contractors in order to pay less lower premiums. Minneapolis Star-Tribune
CLAIMS
Understanding worker compensation claims associated with COVID-19
Nine months into the pandemic, states are starting to better understand the types of workers’ compensation claims associated with the novel coronavirus. Some insurance companies say they can’t predict a virus which is an exclusion, preventing them from paying claims filed by people who catch COVID-19 on the job or suffer a pandemic-related ailment. Local 21