Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AIG to Take $4.1 Billion Q4 Charge for Reserves
Feb 9 2011 // Bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc. said it would take a $4.1 billion charge at its Chartis unit after a review showed higher-than-expected claims on older policies for asbestos exposure and workers’...
Accidents Shine Spotlight on Grain Elevators
Feb 9 2011 // Recent high-profile accident cases have put a regulatory spotlight on grain elevators. Speakers at the North Dakota Grain Dealers Association annual meeting in Fargo talked about a range of financial perils elevators must...
Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Wants Workers’ Comp Overhaul
Feb 8 2011 // Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark Costello is asking lawmakers to overhaul the state’s workers’ compensation system. Costello appeared before the Oklahoma House’s Committee on Insurance. He’s...
Report: Workers’ Comp in Illinois Often Just Needs Doctor’s Note
Feb 8 2011 // A newspaper has found that state, municipal or private workers in Illinois have gotten thousands of tax-free dollars in workers’ compensation with largely nothing more than a doctor’s note. The Belleville...
North Dakota Workers’ Comp Coverage Refused for Mental Stress
Feb 8 2011 // A proposal to give workers’ compensation insurance coverage to emergency workers for mental stress has been defeated in the North Dakota House. North Dakota’s workers’ compensation law normally...
Calif. Workers’ Comp Division Mourns Passing of Nevans
Feb 8 2011 // California’s Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC), a division within the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), has sadly announced the passing of acting Administrative Director Carrie Nevans. She was...
Iowa Supreme Court: Agent not Required to Suggest Unrequested Coverage
Feb 8 2011 // The Iowa Supreme Court has sided with an insurance agent in a case involving whether or not the agent had a duty to advise his clients as to the need for insurance coverage about which the clients had not inquired. In...
Missouri Business Leaders Outline Agenda to Create, Keep Jobs
Feb 7 2011 // Tort, Workers’ Comp Reform Among Legislative Proposals Business leaders in Missouri are asking state lawmakers for reforms that they say will help protect and create jobs. Among the priorities for the Fix the Six...
Return-to-Work Process Helps Employees Return to Normalcy Faster
Feb 7 2011 // Unfortunately, many companies have workplace accidents at some point that may require an employee to be away from work whether for a few days or a few months. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor...
Some in Illinois GOP Want to Link Workers’ Comp Reform, State Borrowing
Feb 7 2011 // Illinois lawmakers left two big pieces of unfinished business when they went home after voting to raise income taxes. One piece would make Illinois a less expensive place to do business, and the other would get billions of...
Massachusetts Attorney General Wants Tougher Workers’ Comp Penalties
Feb 7 2011 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley wants more severe criminal penalties for businesses that go without workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. A bill filed earlier this month by...
Growing Waistlines Costing Economy in Large Proportions
Feb 7 2011 // Measurements of the cost of obesity to the U.S. economy, as well as the workers’ compensation system are growing, becoming an “epidemic,” according to recent research. The studies show that the total...
Nevada Lowers Workers’ Comp Costs 3.9%
Feb 7 2011 // Nevada Insurance Commissioner Brett Barratt approved a filing for an average decrease of 3.9 percent for Nevada workers’ compensation voluntary insurance loss costs and an average decrease of 2.2 percent for...
People
Feb 7 2011 // The Main Street America Group has appointed Bruce Fox to serve as the group’s general counsel. Fox has been serving as corporate counsel for the property and casualty group since 2007. He will report to Main Street...
Tennessee Construction Owners Must Register
Feb 7 2011 // A new Tennessee law is requiring all construction firm owners to register with the state if they choose to opt out of the state’s workers’ compensation system. The law is designed to protect general contractors...
Main Street’s Hardest Hit Businesses
Feb 7 2011 // Agents across the country — except in Texas and neighboring states — agree that construction and related trades have been hardest hit by the recession. Restaurants appear to be the second hardest hit. In terms of lines...
Missouri AG Settles with TPAs Over Workers’ Comp Violations
Feb 4 2011 // Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has reached agreements with two companies who the attorney general’s office says violated Missouri’s workers’ compensation law by knowingly failing to report worker...
Bordelon Reappointed as Texas Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation
Feb 4 2011 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry reappointed Rod A. Bordelon Jr. of Austin as commissioner of Workers’ Compensation at the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2013. Bordelon has served as...
Berkshire Hathaway Homestate to Provide Workers’ Comp Nationally
Feb 3 2011 // The Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies (BHHC) now has the ability to provide workers’ compensation coverage to their clients in every state that allows private insurers to compete for business. Currently, BHHC...
Montana Bill Would Send Workers’ Comp Out for Bid
Feb 3 2011 // A Montana senator believes the state might save money if part of the workers’ compensation program were administered by a private insurance company. Sen. Jim Keane urged members of the Senate Business, Labor, and...
