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Comparing California’s Workers’ Comp Cost and Benefit Ratios

California employers continue to experience higher costs than most other states. The cost of workers’ comp is no exception, even though employers in California saw a 10.9% decrease in workers’ comp costs over a recent five-year period, according to a just-released analysis by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI). Employers nationwide, however, saw an … Read More »

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Workers’ Comp Fraud Bill Dies

A proposal to help insurance carriers fight workers’ comp fraud will not be moving forward this session. The measure would have given carriers access to employers’ payroll records to crack down on premium fraud, but the Assembly Appropriations Committee did not advance the bill because of cost concerns. The bill would have created a cumbersome … Read More »

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Legislature Enters 9th Inning

California legislators returned to Sacramento this week for the final weeks of the session with a hefty load of bills to work through. The measures of interest to the workers’ comp community include bills to enhance anti-fraud efforts, hold carriers accountable for correcting problems, and enact staffing industry reforms. Already off the table were controversial … Read More »

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Independent Contractors or Employees?

The California Department of Insurance is being asked to adjudicate a workers’ comp premium dispute over payments that drivers receive from Uber through a third-party vehicle leasing arrangement. The State Compensation Insurance Fund considers the payments payroll and is demanding premium from the leasing company, but the insured, Losy LLC, argues that the drivers are … Read More »

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Workers’ Comp Rate Decision Details

Acting on the advice of the California Department of Insurance’s actuary, the Insurance Commissioner approved a 6.6% increase in California’s workers’ comp advisory pure premium rates. The approved rate was 3.8 points below what the insurance industry requested and 1.8 points above what an independent actuary representing employers and organized labor recommended. “While the indicated … Read More »

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Comprehensive Workers’ Comp Reform Delay

Employer hopes to see a comprehensive workers’ comp reform package enacted before Gavin Newsom is termed out of office have faded, but discussions over what is and is not working in the system are ongoing. Labor, too, will have to do without a permanent disability benefit increase for another year. The Commission on Health, Safety … Read More »

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CDI Wants Changes to Anti-Fraud Funding

The California Department of Insurance is proposing updates to the regulations governing grant funding programs that fight fraud in workers’ compensation, automobile, disability, and healthcare insurance. The regulations haven’t been updated in decades. Tens of millions of dollars are awarded annually to county district attorneys (see related story on page 6). The Department will hold … Read More »

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Unlicensed Contractor Wins Reinstatement of Negligence Lawsuit

A homeowner will be facing a civil lawsuit filed by an unlicensed contractor who was injured on her property. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court decision granting summary judgment in favor of the homeowner. The decision in Luis Gonzalez v. Jessie Washington stems from injuries Gonzalez sustained when he fell from … Read More »

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