After battling the combined forces of California workers’ comp insurers, attorneys in a class action lawsuit are seeking interest payments on past attorney fee awards. A Superior Court has said they’re legally in the right, just not in the correct court, and an appellate court agrees. But the insurance industry, which spends 65% of its …
State Compensation Insurance Fund’s new policy governing use of state cars and what constitutes an eligible employee is raising hackles with its largest union. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is angry about the way the policy was adopted and its impact on employees. SEIU maintains that such broad policy changes should be the result of …
Key players in the workers’ comp fraud-fighting community were on hand last week to honor one of their own for his years of service to the cause — William Zachry, vice president of risk management for Safeway Corp., and a longtime member of the California Department of Insurance Fraud Assessment Commission. Zachry stepped down recently …
The rapid decline in earned premiums in California’s workers’ comp market pushed carrier’s combined ratio well into the triple digits last year, ultimately clocking in at 118.2, according to preliminary data from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau. State Compensation Insurance Fund ended 2009 with a combined ratio of 161.5. The uptick came as earned …
The California Supreme Court is set to hear arguments over whether the Governor has the authority to furlough workers at the State Compensation Insurance Fund, but in the eyes First District Court of Appeal the issue is clear — he doesn’t. In an unpublished decision handed down on Friday, the Appeals Court rejected three different …
State workers’ comp funds are a growing part of the market and can expect the same gloomy outlook for the remainder of 2010 as their private counterparts, workers’ comp analysts and state fund experts say. Even as their premiums shrink and better risks look for greener pastures, cash-strapped state legislatures look hungrily at these carriers …
Do apartment leasing agents who jot down messages from tenants about maintenance step outside their job classification? What if they do minor maintenance? State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) says “yes” and it hopes to score $70,000 in back premium by convincing a Department of Insurance administrative law judge to rule in its favor. At issue …
Attorneys, claims adjusters and others who find themselves in the mix on disputed workers’ comp claims better make sure they have caller ID enabled on their phones because an inadvertent “hello” may cost someone a case. Under a ruling by the Second District Court of Appeal, a qualified medical examiner (QME) report finding no compensability …