Quote of the day
"I don't know that it's such a coincidence that the lines of insurance that are the most chaotic, cause us the most grief (and) have the highest-cost drivers are the two major lines of insurance that are not under the insurance commissioner." California Lieutenant Gov. Cruz Bustamante, referring to health and workers' compensation insurance
Bustamante Says He Would Expand Role of Insurance Commissioner
Lieutenant Gov. Cruz Bustamante, who is running for state insurance commissioner against Silicon Valley billionaire Steve Poizner on the Nov. 7 ballot, says that, if elected, he would begin political “dialogue” to give the commissioner greater oversight over health and workers’ compensation insurance. But it won’t be easy, with expected resistance from the insurance industry, the governor and the legislature. By Aurelio Rojas, Sacramento Bee [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Correctional Officer Can’t Get Benefits for Helping at Accident Scene
Affirming the state Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, the Third Appellate District Court of Appeal rules that a correctional officer who was injured after he stopped while on his way to work to help at an accident scene is not entitled to worker’s compensation benefits because he was not a peace officer and his job duties did not require him to stop and render aid. Metropolitan News-Enterprise (Los Angeles)
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Hearing Date Set on Florida Insurance Rates
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation schedules a public hearing on Oct. 9 in Tallahassee regarding the 13.3 percent proposed workers’ compensation insurance rate filed by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Orlando Business Journal
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Workers’ Comp Referendum Won’t Be on Ohio Ballot
A referendum that seeks to reform Ohio’s workers’ compensation system lacks the required number of signatures to allow it to appear on the Nov. 7 ballot, according to the Ohio secretary of state. The Committee to Protect Injured Workers, Widows and Orphans, which backs the bill, wants to repeal changes in the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation that it says are anti-worker.
Go to the full story in the Toledo Blade
Go to the full story by AP via Akron Beacon Journal
Utah WCF Praises City’s Employee Safety Program
The Workers Compensation Fund of Utah praises Tooele City for providing information and classes to employees to help protect them from accidents. About every 18 months the city schedules a two-week period in which it provides an array of classes and activities that focus on safety. By Mark Watson, Toole Transcript Bulletin
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Trucking Firm Cites Workers’ Comp Costs in Earnings Outlook
Blaming higher than expected health care and workers’ compensation costs in the second half of the year, as well as the impact of a softening economy, Canadian trucking firm Vitran Corp. reduces its 2006 earning outlook. Reuters Canada
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B.C. Must Cut Forest Workers’ Accident Rate: Industry Safety Boss
British Columbia’s vital forest sector is squandering the health and lives of its workers, says the chief safety officer of the BC Forest Council. Moreover, the industry cannot afford the current cost of injuries and lost time that have contributed to workers’ compensation assessments that are higher than any other sector in the province, and double those of its competitors in Alberta. By Michael Kane, Vancouver Sun
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NSW’s Injured Workers Will See Higher Payouts
In Australia’s New South Wales, injured workers are set to receive 10 percent higher payouts under reforms to be delivered by the milestone settlement of the state government’s more than $2.4 billion (USD) WorkCover liability. Moreover, workers’ compensation premiums will be cut by a further 5 percent. By Simon Benson, Daily Telegraph (Sydney)
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