The American Insurance Association’s office in Sacramento is a little lonelier these days. Ken Gibson, vice president of the Western Region for AIA, has decided to retire after more than a decade in the service of insurance. Steve Suchil, assistant vice president for state affairs, will be acting vice president until a successor is announced. …
Citing an authority to adjust rates that has since expired, the California Department of Insurance has told the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) to yank the standard form Premium Adjustment Endorsement-California (WC 04 04 07). The form has been available since 2003 and is the result of language included in AB 749, authored by …
Chock full of placeholders, noncontroversial housekeeping measures and some outright drivel, the legislative process is off to its usual sausage-making start. The counties are bringing back lien reform and hope to cut this costly monstrosity down to size. And speaking of monstrosities, there is even a bill that would require the Electronic Adjudication Management System …
That California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner rejected the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California’s request for a double-digit hike in the pure premium rate probably shouldn’t be a surprise in light of his past actions and future aspirations. It was just four months ago that a request for an even larger increase was reduced …
The California Division of Workers’ Compensation’s proposed revisions to California’s regulations for medical provider networks (MPNs) drew scant public testimony and only a handful of written comments — largely in support of the proposed changes. Some responses offered refinement to the language. But that doesn’t mean the division’s attempt to simplify compliance is going to …
Defense attorneys around the state, along with their employer and carrier clients, remain on edge over what they fear will be significant frictional and straight-dollar costs from the recent Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board en banc decision in Ogilvie II. That an appeal already hasbeen filed — by the applicant, no less — is doing little to …
Americans’ obesity costs the workers’ comp system and employers a ton of money. A new study by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) says that after one year, claims costs for obese injured workers are nearly triple the claims costs for non-obese injured workers. And it doesn’t stop there. By a claim’s third anniversary, …
Another mundane package of workers’ comp bills head to the governor’s desk, with just a handful surviving the slings and arrows of the budget fight. Putting aside the usual bills involving predesignation and apportionment, perhaps two items that generated the most buzz this year involved State Compensation Insurance Fund (of course) and permanent disability. A …