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Understanding the Cost of Your Workers Compensation Policy

Workers’ compensation premium is calculated differently from other types of insurance. Your cost depends on the type of business you operate, your payroll size, and other factors. You make premium payments throughout the policy term, but your exact final premium is configured after the policy term ends. Let’s look at the components that go into determining your premium. Classification system. The California workers’ comp system groups occupations and industries into about 500 distinct classifications. Insurance providers charge a rate for each classification based on the projected claims costs for that industry.  The higher the expected claims are for classification, the… Read More »Understanding the Cost of Your Workers Compensation Policy

What to Expect When an Employee Is Injured

As soon as you are aware of a possible work-related injury or illness, you should take action to provide medical treatment and report a claim. When you file a claim with your workers’ comp insurance company, you are notifying the insurer of an injury or illness that may be covered by your policy. By law, you must file a claim for every occupational injury or illness, with one exception: When the incident does not cause the employee to miss work for a full day or shift beyond the date of injury or illness, and also does not require treatment beyond… Read More »What to Expect When an Employee Is Injured

Motor Vehicle Crash Injuries Statistics

In a one-year period, the cost of medical care and productivity losses associated with injuries from motor vehicle crashes exceeded $99 billion , that is > $99, 000, 000, 000– with the cost of direct medical care accounting for $17 billion. A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the total annual cost amounts to nearly $500 for each licensed driver in the U.S. The study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention found that the one-year costs of fatal and non-fatal crash-related injuries totaled $70 billion (71% of total costs) for people riding in motor vehicles,… Read More »Motor Vehicle Crash Injuries Statistics

Professional Liability Coverage for Contractors

Zurich has introduced an enhanced professional liability policy aimed at mid-sized and large construction customers. “The coverage is designed for the professional exposures of a construction manager, whether offered through an at-risk or agency contract, as well as trade subcontractors with or without direct design exposure,” said Scott Rasor, head of Construction for Zurich’s North America Commercial business division. “The policy covers third-party claims against a contractor. If the contractor is providing design-build services and incurs first-party losses due to the designer’s negligence, the contractor can access this policy’s limits when the subcontracted designer’s professional liability limits are not adequate… Read More »Professional Liability Coverage for Contractors

Pregnancy Discrimination

As reported by WorkForce.com (full article: http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/27/30/48.php_ A pregnant welder who was transferred from her job can pursue pregnancy discrimination and Americans   with Disabilities Act claims, a divided (2-1) federal appeals court has ruled in largely overturning a lower   court decision. However, a panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld the lower court’s ruling in   Heather Spees v. James Marine Inc. and JamesBuilt L.L.C. that dismissed Spees’ claim that her subsequent   termination also constituted pregnancy discrimination. According to the ruling, Spees was hired in 2007 to work as a welder at… Read More »Pregnancy Discrimination

Another Workers Comp increase in California?

California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau is considering requesting a 30 percent increase in pure premium rates for 2011 policies. The news that California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) might ask for the increase came out of a meeting of the bureau’s actuarial committee. That committee makes a recommendation to the WCIRB’s governing committee, and then the governing committee makes the request to the states Department of Insurance. The governing committee is scheduled to meet next week, and will be considering the recommendation then, said the WCIRB’s communications director. The Department of Insurance has rejected the past two rate… Read More »Another Workers Comp increase in California?

Illegal Insurance Rescission Prevention in California

California Insurance Commissioner has imposed regulations designed to combat illegal rescissions. The rules take effect on August 18. Currently, health insurers may only rescind policies under very specific, limited circumstances defined by law and regulations. In the past, some insurers have exploited vagueness in these laws to improperly rescind health insurance policies, according to the Department of Insurance. The new regulations clarify the law to protect consumers from these illicit practices and set out specific steps insurers must take before they can legally rescind. All insurers must file revised health history questionnaires that comply with the new regulations and receive… Read More »Illegal Insurance Rescission Prevention in California

ISO changes for 2011 and later vehicles

The Insurance Service Office (ISO) has revised its method of assigning symbols to vehicles. Rather than a single symbol, there will be separate comprehensive and collision symbols. Instead of a range of symbols from 1 to 27 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail value up to $80,000 and above, there will be a range of 1 to 75 for values up to $150,000 and a symbol 98 for all vehicles above $150,000.

WCIRB Violates Open-Access Agreement with Department

Newly discovered documents obtained by Workers’ Comp Executive reveal that the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) is violating both the letter and spirit of the agreement it signed with the California Department of Insurance 16 years ago. WCIRB continues to violate the agreement by denying the public, employers, the Legislature, the executive and regulatory branches of government, and other interested parties access to the information it uses to make its policy and rate recommendations for the insurance commissioner. It has even denied members of its own governing board access to meetings. As the Insurance Department’s one and only designated… Read More »WCIRB Violates Open-Access Agreement with Department