Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

Now is Not the Time for Insurance Industry Retreat

Nov 16 2008 // The word change has been largely embraced by the country this election season. As small business owners, the concept of change in our industry is something we have long been familiar with. Changes in the marketplace are...

Public Entities Use Early Intervention to Improve Workers’ Comp Results

Nov 16 2008 // Public entities nationwide are searching for new strategies to improve the performance of their workers’ compensation programs. A primary challenge has been frequent delays in reporting employee injuries, which sets...

What the 2008 Election Means for California’s Insurance Agents

Nov 16 2008 // For those of you who weren’t aware, the November 4th election brought some good news for insurance agents in California: another one of us was elected to the State Assembly. Jeff Miller, currently Mayor of the City...

Gallagher Joins WorkCompEdge as Contributor

Nov 13 2008 // Michigan-based commercial insurance broker and consultant Maureen Gallagher has joined WorkCompEdge as a contributor, announced Kory Wells, WorkCompEdge blog editor and director of product development for Specific Software...

California State Fund Files an 8.9 Percent Premium Increase for 2009

Nov 13 2008 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund announced it filed a Jan. 1, 2009 revision to its rating plan, which it anticipates will result in an average 8.9 percent increase in collectible premium. Premiums for...

West Virginia Workers’ Comp Insurer Plans 50 Staff Cuts

Nov 12 2008 // BrickStreet Insurance said it is looking to shed 50 employees in a move to cut costs following the loss of its monopoly in writing workers’ compensation insurance policies to West Virginia businesses. The action is...

N. D. Judge Denys Request to Move Trial of Former Workers’ Comp Head

Nov 12 2008 // A judge has denied North Dakota’s former workers’ compensation director’s request to move his criminal trial out of Burleigh County. Sandy Blunt faces two felony charges that accuse him of misspending...

Texas Raises Work Comp Payroll Requirement for Seasonal Workers

Nov 11 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation announced that the adjusted annual payroll requirement of an employer for the coverage of seasonal workers has increased to $48,833 from...

Texan Sentenced in Workers’ Comp Fraud Case

Nov 5 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that Felix Prado of Falfurrias, Texas, pleaded guilty to workers’ compensation fraud-related charges. A Travis County district court sentenced Prado to 30 days in the Travis...

New York Appeals Court Upholds Workers’ Compensation Claim

Nov 3 2008 // A New York State appeals court has upheld workers’ compensation benefits for an illegal alien injured while working as a parking lot attendant despite falsely using another man’s identification. Benjamin Amoah,...

Employers Holdings Acquires AmCOMP

Nov 3 2008 // Reno, Nev.-based Employers Holdings Inc., a Nevada-based company whose subsidiaries are specialty providers of workers’ compensation insurance specializing in small businesses, has acquired AmCOMP Inc. in a...

Maryland’s Treatment of Injured Workers Graded About Average Compared to 9 States

Nov 2 2008 // When employers pay more for medical care for injured workers, workers should experience better outcomes. Otherwise, the logical question becomes: “Why are employers paying more?” Comparing Outcomes for Injured...

Declarations

Nov 2 2008 // Rocky Quarter “It was a rocky third quarter for insurers, but risk managers still saw prices improve on average. It is increasingly clear, though, that premiums cannot continue to fall at this pace, especially with...

Kentucky Weathering AIG and Ike Hurricanes

Nov 2 2008 // Sharon P. Clark, a 17-year veteran of Kentucky state government, was appointed commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Insurance (DOI) in June. Clark’s experience includes five years as director of the Consumer...

Florida Gets Workers’ Comp Hike Warning

Nov 2 2008 // The Florida Supreme Court recently struck down a cap on fees for lawyers of injured workers, saying the attorneys must receive reasonable pay. Businesses fear the ruling will lead to higher workers compensation...

No Ruling by Arkansas Supreme Court on Fairness of Workers’ Comp System

Nov 2 2008 // But Justices Don’t Exclude Possibility of Revisiting the Issue The Arkansas Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission to deny an injured worker’s claim but...

Bright Spots and Challenges Go Hand in Hand in Louisiana

Nov 2 2008 // Despite the challenges faced by the state of Louisiana since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wrought their havoc in 2005, there are bright spots in the state’s property casualty insurance industry, says Louisiana...

California Commissioner Announces 5% Workers’ Comp Rate Increase

Nov 2 2008 // Rejecting the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s (WCIRB) call for a 16 percent increase in the benchmark for determining workers’ compensation costs, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner...

Nov 2 2008 // Pete Garvey, current president of Integro Ltd., assumed the additional responsibility of CEO for the insurance broker, succeeding Roger Egan, who has left the company. Garvey has served as president of Integro since 2005....

Oregon Insurance Division Administrator Kipper Steps Down

Nov 2 2008 // Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) announced that Scott Kipper, administrator of the Insurance Division, left his position on Oct. 31, 2008, to pursue other interests. Yet before he left,...