Posts Tagged ‘workers compensation insurance’

Kansas Shows Decline in Workplace Injuries

March 23rd, 2011 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in workers compensation insurance

Good news from the world of worker’s compensation insurance: labor officials in Kansas say non-fatal workplace were 12 percent lower than average in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics have been compiled.

The Department of Labor says the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses showed that the state’s rate of non-fatal workplace injuries was 4.1 cases per 100 full-time workers in that year, down from 4.5 cases per 100 the year before.

The sharpest drop, the survey says, was in the construction industry, which saw a decline of non-fatal injuries of 29 percent between 2008 and 2009.

The data from the survey also says that 26.1 percent of all injured and ill workers were between the ages of 45 and 54, while those aged from 35 to 44 represented 24.9 percent of total non-fatal workplace illnesses and injuries.

Karin Brownlee, the Kansas Labor Secretary, says the new data is encouraging.

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Oklahoma Representative Pushes for Workers’ Comp Reform

December 27th, 2010 by Iris | 1 Comment | Filed in insurance news, insurance specialists, workers compensation insurance

Oklahoma state representative, Mark McCullough told the press last week that he was prepared to introduce legislation designed to improve his state’s workers’ compensation system. Representative McCullough also said that the legislation will be based on recent recommendations from The Task Force on Vocational Rehabilitation in Workers’ Compensation, including reforms that would return employees to work whenever possible, as a way to both control costs and reduce litigation.

In addition, the group recommended that vocational rehabilitation should begin much earlier than is currently required, and that medical guidelines that are evidence-based should be implemented in order to identify and confirm workplace injuries.

McCullough, an attorney, served as chair of the task force, which put the workers’ compensation system and the issue of vocational rehabilitation under review. In their report, the task force observed, “Vocational rehabilitation through our system is utilized infrequently, rarely successfully places an injured worker in a difference occupation, is not attractive to the injured worker for a variety of reasons, occurs much too late in the case timeline and is perhaps cynically used to settle a claim for a higher dollar amount with no real belief by either part that the funds will actually be used for the purposes of vocational rehabilitation.”

McCullough said that his legislation would include reforms to begin vocational rehabilitation before Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) in some cases, and may involve having a physician’s advisory council draft at set of fact-specific injuries to serve as a “trigger” for cases where earlier vocational rehabilitation may be advisable.

In addition, the legislation will also contain provisions from a bill McCullough originally filed last year. That bill, which was a product of a working group sponsored by The State Chamber, would turn Oklahoma’s Workers’ Compensation system into an administrative system, which all states except Oklahoma and Nebraska have already embraced.

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Five Bizarre Insurance Claims (That We SWEAR We Didn’t Make Up)

October 28th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in insurance facts, insurance news, insurance specialists, workers compensation insurance

Okay, we know that people sometimes make insurance claims for some truly bizarre reasons, but these are more bizarre than most. Since this is Halloween week, we’ve decided to share them with you:

  1. Shooting a Monkey: There’s no doubt that law enforcement work is a high-stress job, but even police officers can take emotional duress claims beyond what most people would consider reasonable. Officer Frank Chiafari made such a claim after a case that involved a chimpanzee that had gone on a rampage, leaving at least one person with serious injuries. When the chimp attempted to get hinto his car, he shot it. He later filed a workers compensation insurance claim because of the stress caused by the situation, but was denied because he hadn’t shot an actual human being.
  2. Nose Broken While Gawking: Okay, we know that Greece is a popular destination for bikini clad tourists, especially in summer, but check this out: while on vacation in Athens, a man was so distracted by ogling a group of nubile young women in bathing suits that he walked into a bust stop shelter, hitting it so hard that he broke his nose. He went to the hospital, and yes, his insurance company did pay for it.
  3. Half-Baked Hair:A man vacationing with his daughter filed a claim with his travel insurance company for the cost of the girl’s haircut. She had, he claimed, singed her hair in the oven, making the new do a necessity, but the do was apparently a serious don’t. The insurance company didn’t agree with his notion that they should pay for the cut. Maybe he should have tried suing the oven manufacturer instead?
  4. Sinking Your Teeth Into It: A man on a cruise found out the hard way just how bad seasickness can be when his dentures went overboard while the ship was in rough waters in the Bay of Biscay. He had leaned over the side to void his upset stomach, and his false teeth went along for the ride. Fortunately, his travel insurance company agreed that that the diving dentures counted as “lost luggage.”
  5. Alien Abduction: While most of us believe that alien abduction is limited to television and movies, there’s actually a thriving market for alien abduction insurance. One company offering such coverage is Goodfellow Rebecca Ingrams Pearson (GRIP). This London-based insurer specializes in odd kinds of coverage, including both alien abduction insurance and immaculate conception insurance. GRIP even paid out a million-pound claim to a client who claimed he’d been abducted. (We won’t comment on the fact that he’s a business partner on GRIP’s managing director.)

To think we once thought it weird that online doctor visits were covered by insurance. By comparison, that’s perfectly normal.

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California’s Prop 19 An Insurance Issue? Maybe So

October 19th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in health insurance, workers compensation insurance

BankRate ran an article earlier this week that brought up some really interesting points. You may not know this, but in just a couple of weeks, Californian’s may legalize marijuana possession and use, and if that happens, law enforcement won’t be the only thing affected. The insurance industry, specifically in regards to worker’s comp insurance, and even employee health insurance, will also be affected.

How do businesses handle an employee who is legally using marijuana? Should that be handled any differently from an employee who uses over-the-counter antihistamines? Here are some of the questions BankRate believes employers need to ask:

* Are medical marijuana users exempt from my anti-drug policies?
* Can I fire an employee for using medical marijuana?
* Can I refuse to hire a job candidate based on their medical marijuana use?
* Can a medical marijuana user sue me under the Americans with Disabilities Act?
* Do state laws supersede federal laws that classify pot as an illegal substance?
* Could I run afoul of federal contracts if I don’t enforce a no-drug policy?

And of course, users also have concerns they need to address:

* If I use medical marijuana, will I get fired, or perhaps not hired in the future?
* How will medical marijuana use impact my employer’s mandatory drug testing?
* Should I even divulge my “med-hemp” use to my employer?

As the original article points out, the answers to these questions are somewhat murky, especially when you take into account the different local, state and federal laws regarding medical marijuana use, many of which are in direct conflict with each other. And, as usual, it’s the people who are caught in the middle.

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California Workers Comp Rates Are Too Low

April 16th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in insurance news, insurance specialists, workers compensation insurance

The Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) of California has issued a report stating that written premiums for the year of 2009 are too low. Specifically, the gross written premium for last calendar year is about $8.9 billion, which is 17% lower than the reported numbers for 2008 and only 62% of the 2004 total.

This data was released in the organization’s “Summary of December 31, 2009 Insurer Experience,” in which WCIRB projected $6.9 billion in total accident year loses for 2009, or nine percent beneath the 2008 level. Further projections include an ulitamte accident year (AY) loss ratio of 75% for 2009, which is six percent higher than the estimated value for AY 2008, and the highest loss ratio since 2002.

The Bureau does has not yet compiled expense data for 2009, but it did say that the combined ratio is likely to be significantly higher than 2008′s 108%.

According to WCIRB, the average 2009 indemnity claim will cost about $58,000, which figure represents a 4% increase over 2008, after three years of 13%/year increases.

So what does this mean to Californians? Take a close look at your benefits packages – your company may have to pay more, and they may find a way to pass that payment on to you.

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