Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

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,...

Commercial P/C Insurers’ Stocks Down 14%; M&A Activity at Historic Highs

Nov 2 2008 // Stock Prices: The turbulent stock market is not sparing commercial property/casualty insurers. Through the first nine months of the year stocks are down 14 percent in the sector. M&A Activity: Despite the current...

Advocates: Governor to Have Authority at N.D. Workers’ Comp Agency

Oct 31 2008 // Advocates for injured workers say an initiative that gives the governor power to hire North Dakota’s workers’ compensation director is only one of many changes needed in the system. “First of all,...

Florida Approves Another Rate Decrease for Workers’ Comp

Oct 30 2008 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty approved the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s amended rate filing for workers’ compensation insurance rates that will become effective Jan. 1. The rate...

Former North Dakota Workers’ Comp Director Wants Trial Moved

Oct 30 2008 // A former North Dakota workers’ compensation director is asking a judge to move his criminal trial from Bismarck to Fargo. Sandy Blunt faces two felony charges that accuse him of misspending Workforce Safety and...

New York Hotel Worker Charged with Workers Compensation Fraud

Oct 28 2008 // A 49-year-old Nassau County, New York woman has been arrested on charges of fraudulently collecting $20,000 in workers’ compensation benefits, the New York State Insurance Department reported. Maria Escobar, of...