Quote of the day
"It's been a long time since the reforms - it's been three years. Some people say you need five years to look at the whole picture, but other people want change now."
Bill Miller, risk management services, Automotive Aftermarket Insurance Services
How to Win When Competition Heats Up
In the final installation in our three-part series of interviews with analysts, William Wilt, property-casualty analyst for Morgan Stanley, gives our premium readers his take on how established companies can stay competitive as new writers enter California’s workers’ compensation market, and why he doesn’t consider California much of a trendsetter. Premium subscribers can click here to read the Q&A session, or find it in the current print edition of Workers’ Comp Executive.
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Excess Weight on Doctors’ and Insurers’ Shoulders
Obese workers cost employers more in workers’ comp costs. Injuries are more likely and healing is more difficult. Premium subscribers can find just how much it costs the system, and why injuries can last longer, all in the current print of Workers’ Comp Executive or by clicking here.
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Job-Related Auto Fatalities
International reinsurance broker Willis Re has released a new study on the frequency of fatalities and injuries in work-related auto accidents. After reviewing the numbers, workers’ comp carriers will be looking at vehicle safety in a whole new light. Premium subscribers can read the article and get the study by clicking here.
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Many Cooks in State Fund Defense Kitchen
The list of lawyers and law firms defending the State Compensation Insurance Fund and various officers and directors in a class action suit is growing. Fired president Jim Tudor and fired vice president Renee Koren have chosen counsel with criminal experience. Find out who else is involved and how, in the current print edition of Workers’ Comp Executive, or if you’re a premium subscriber, you can click here for the latest.
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Mounting Cases, but CDI Short of Officers
It’s slim pickin’s at the California Department of Insurance these days. CDI’s short of fraud investigators and that’s leaving many cases wilting on the vine. Why the shortfall? What’s at stake? Read the current print edition of Workers’ Comp Executive or premium subscribers can click here.
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PD Bills Seen but Not Heard
This year seemed the right time for lobbyists and lawmakers to smooth the edges around permanent disability. Two PD bills are on the table, but is time on labor’s side? Which side do the objective studies fall on, and what’s likely to happen before the end of the session? Premium subscribers can find out here or in the current print edition of Workers’ Comp Executive.
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Yuba-Sutter Farms Fined for Workers’ Comp Violations
In an enforcement sweep meant to level the playing field for compliant businesses, authorities hit Yuba-Sutter farm owners with nearly $45,000 in fines for violating workers’ compensation requirements and child labor laws. By Andrea Koskey, Appeal-Democrat (Marysville)
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Garden State Allows Insurers to Limit Workers’ Comp Coverage
Insurers are less liable for certain types of workers’ compensation claims under a policy change approved by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. Insurance companies now may narrow coverage and limit liability in cases in which an employer’s actions could have contributed to an accident. By Hugh R. Morley, NorthJersey.com
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More Names Sought for Governing Board of Troubled Bureau
In an effort to provide the Ohio Ethics Commission with more time to determine if potential conflicts of interest exist, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland asks a panel to submit more names for a new, more powerful board of directors for the scandal-plagued Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Elsewhere, Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor argues in favor of proposed legislation that would establish an independent state audit committee responsible for timely reviewing and reporting the results of internal audits of state agencies including the BWC. Toledo Blade
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Tassie Jockeys Promise Strike over Lack of Workers’ Comp
In Tasmania, the only Australian state that does not have a complete coverage plan for medical expenses incurred by Thoroughbred horse jockeys who sustain injuries while riding, jockeys say they will strike starting August 1. Virtual Form Guide (Australia)
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