Quote of the day
"We're going to be more proactive; that's the bottom line."
Bill Walsh, a spokesman for the Minnesota Commerce Department, about a program intended to notify consumers about insurance agents who have been involved in criminal activity
Kern County Board Mulls Benefits for Ex-Supervisor’s Widow
The Kern County Employees’ Retirement Association board was scheduled yesterday to hear a recommendation to deny disability retirement benefits to the widow of a 52-year-old county supervisor who died in 2002 of a heart attack. The widow won a workers’ compensation claim against the county on the grounds that the stress of the supervisor’s job contributed to his death. Bakersfield Californian
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Computer Containing Injured Workers’ Personal Data Found
A computer that had been missing from a Chicago-based insurance brokerage and that had contained personal information on about 540,000 injured workers has been located and is reportedly in a secure location. It was also revealed yesterday that the personal information was known to be missing almost two months before brokerage officials reported the incident. By Mark Johnson, AP via Monterey Herald
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Minnesota Officials to Warn Consumers of Scofflaw Insurers
The Minnesota Department of Commerce is planning a major, “proactive” outreach program using the internet, community newspapers and a monthly bulletin to warn consumers about insurance agents who have been involved in fraudulent activity and/or had their licenses revoked. The bulletin will note trends in violations and enforcement. By AP via Grand Forks Herald
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California Workers’ Comp Payments Declined as Share of Payroll in 2004: Studies
After four years of growth, California workers’ compensation payments declined in 2004 as a share of workers’ wages, according to two studies issued today by the National Academy of Social Insurance. Workers’ Comp Executive
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No Bottom Is Safe in New York City
In New York, workers at the City Council, the Department of Finance, Hunter College, and the Administration for Children Services filed workers’ comp claims for problems related to their buttocks; so did corrections officers, police, firefighters and staff at the Department of Homeless Services. In some cases the problem was “multiple buttocks,” and in others just the right or the left. By Jarrett Murphy, Village Voice
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Solantic Opening Clinics in Wal-Marts
Solantic, one of four national companies that have signed deals to open clinics inside Wal-Mart stores, will open a walk-in urgent care clinic July 31 inside a Wal-Mart Supercenter in the Jacksonville area. It will offer lab tests, employment drug testing, physicals and workers’ compensation services. Business Journal of Jacksonville
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Opinion: Criminal Neglect in the California Prison System
It’s hard to imagine an institution more poorly managed and pitifully maintained through the years than the California prison system, with the overcrowded Chino facility standing as one of the worst. Chino is the most expensive to manage, has some of the highest assault rates in the system, and pays the highest workers’ compensation costs. San Bernardino Sun
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Delinquent Mountain State Employers Have Less Than a Week
The 5,000 West Virginia employers who have not paid their workers’ compensation insurance premium for the second half of 2006 must get the payment to BrickStreet Mutual by Tuesday or face default and penalties. “Postmarks don’t count,” says Greg Burton, president and chief executive officer. By George Hohmann, Charleston Daily Mail
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SeaBright Posts Second Quarter Profit
SeaBright Insurance Holdings Inc., whose wholly owned namesake subsidiary is a workers’ compensation underwriter, announced yesterday that its second-quarter profit more than doubled but revenue fell shy of Wall Street expectations. Premiums earned rose 5 percent to $41.8 million, pressured by increased competition and rate reductions in California, according to the company. MSN Money
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