Workers’ compensation insurance continues to be a profit center for carriers in California and nationwide. Data extracted by Workers’ Comp Executive from a new report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shows that carriers nationwide reported profits this year of 22%. In California, the results were roughly two points lower, with a profit of …
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed a 62-count felony complaint against a city manager for allegedly taking over $627,000 from the city’s self-insured workers’ comp program. The charging documents allege that Stanley Ellicott used a fake vendor to bill the city for auditing workers’ comp claims and then pocketed the proceeds. As assistant director …
Capitol veterans say California’s escalating budget problems will likely limit opportunities for any significant legislation affecting workers’ comp this year. They note, however, that organized labor, applicant’s attorneys, and others whose interests are tied to the workers’ comp system are expected to use the year to lay the groundwork for potential reforms in the next …
A legislative proposal to allow compromise and release (C&R) settlements to be signed with an electronic signature seems like a simple enough change to improve workers’ comp system efficiency, but it is raising concerns. The concern is the change could make it easier for criminals to commit workers’ comp fraud. The bill, AB 2337 by …
Attorneys for Los Angeles County are asking a state court judge to throw out a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by a female Sheriff’s Department sergeant. The county maintains that the Workers’ Compensation Act’s exclusivity provision covers the claims. “Any and all claims by plaintiff for damages, including, but not limited to, claims for …
Workers’ comp rates in California are at 50-year lows after nine straight years of cuts to the state’s advisory pure premium rates. Concurrently, carriers’ average charged rates have declined and are down to $1.65 per $100 of payroll compared to $3.13 when rates started declining in 2015. Many industry insiders, however, see rates bottoming out. …
Is California’s special fund that provides an extra $5,000 in compensation to qualified injured employees running out of money? The Return-To-Work Supplement Program came within 435 injured workers of spending all of its $120 million allotment during the last fiscal year. Officials say applications are running higher this year. The question now is what will …
Taxpayers support California’s cities, counties, special districts, and other public agencies that self-insure their workers’ compensation responsibilities. The taxpayers caught a break last year as the number of reported workers’ compensation claims dropped sharply overall. However, total future costs for all workers’ comp claims from all years are still rising to nearly $9.8 billion. After …