2022 was a trying year for businesses and consumers alike, and 2023 will no doubt face its own set of challenges. In an interview with Insurance Business America, Mike Becker, CEO of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, offers encouragement to independent insurance agents: “Any sort of economic uncertainty is unnerving to...
Do you have clients who want to challenge certain Workers’ Compensation claims by citing employee misconduct? According to this recent Business Insurance article, if employers want to challenge federal citations for workplace safety violations, they must demonstrate that they: Provide proper training. Document the organization’s workplace...
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), incidents of worker injury, illness, and death have decreased significantly across all industries. Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses decreased by 5.7 percent between 2019 and 2020. Fatal work injury rate fell from 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE)...
Almost all private employees in the United States can collect Workers’ Compensation insurance benefits if they are injured on the job. Railroad employees are the exception to the rule, as any job-related injuries are covered through The Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA). FELA was created in 1908 when railroad use was expanding rapidly in the...
The legalization of cannabis is a hot topic not just among lawmakers and eager hopefuls, but also in the insurance industry. As tolerance and acceptance for cannabis gradually increases, so has its use in the medical community. Medical marijuana usage has grown in popularity in the United States and is now legal in 38 states, 4 U.S. territories,...
Workers’ Compensation is anything but straightforward. And just when you have a handle on your clients’ business operations, they add a new business location, have a significant loss, forget to pay their insurance bill, or start hiring an entirely new classification of employees. Sometimes it’s just your client’s needs outgrowing the Workers’...
Workers’ Compensation covers medical expenses and lost wages for employees who become sick or injured due to a workplace accident. But what about cases of workplace violence, where the injury isn’t an accident? Determining if Workers’ Compensation provides indemnification for workplace violence isn’t cut-and-dry and requires careful evaluation of...
Despite all reasonable care and precautions, workplace accidents happen—someone makes a mistake, equipment malfunctions, Mother Nature plays a cruel trick. Companies go to great lengths to both ensure the safety of their employees and mitigate potential risks to their business. Depending on the circumstance, some of those measures might include...
The moment an employee is injured on the job, the clock starts ticking for them to alert their employer and begin the process of filing a Workers’ Compensation claim. In most states, the deadline to submit a Workers’ Compensation claim to a company’s insurance provider is 2 to 3 years but varies by state. However, the deadline for employees to...
Our nation’s healthcare system will become much more strained as the Baby Boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964) passes retirement age, and the need for home healthcare services will rise dramatically. The population eligible for Medicare in the U.S. in 2000 was 35.1 million, but that number will be almost double at 69.7 million by 2030....
A Workers’ Compensation large deductible plan provides the same coverage as a guaranteed insurance plan – in fact, it is a guaranteed insurance plan with a special deductible endorsement. The deductible size for these plans generally ranges from $100,000 to $1,000,000 per occurrence. Large deductible plans are not for every company, but some...
The sale of legal cannabis is projected to reach $20 billion within three years. With 33 states passing laws to legalize medical cannabis and 11 allowing recreational marijuana, the insurance industry is beginning to take notice.
Determining the proper classification for cannabis businesses is not one you want to take a gamble on. If you bet on a specific class code and it isn’t accurate, your client could suffer significant premium penalties at the time of an audit or worse – costly coverage gaps.
Return to work programs are critical for protecting businesses from exposure and ensuring a clear path forward for injured workers. Without a Return to Work (RTW) program, your client risks major expenses from compensation claims as well as the loss of talented team members. What is a Return to Work program? After an injury, a worker may be...
Certificates of Insurance programs are the cornerstone of Workers’ Compensation protection in the construction business. A Certificate of Insurance (COI) is a form that provides proof of an active Workers’ Compensation policy. The document specifies a variety of details such as the policy holder, insurance provider, and the dates of active...
There are a great number of commercial industries that operate their business on or near water. Unfortunately, there are also too many commercial clients that have a standard Workers’ Compensation policy and THINK they have USL&H coverage (or worse, don’t even know that they need it). Even some of the best insurance underwriters miss it!...
The third quarter of 2018 saw an increase in premium renewal rates across nearly all lines of commercial business, except for workers’ compensation. We are still operating in a softer market and commercial carriers are willing to package the workers’ comp with other lines of business. Just because they will doesn’t mean that they should! Fun...