Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

RIMS: Soft Market Takes Hold as Commercial Premiums Decline 15%

Jul 15 2004 // In the continuing march toward a soft market, most commercial insurance buyers renewed their policies at the same or lower premiums last quarter, according to a survey of corporate risk managers. Data from the survey shows...

Rhode Island’s Beacon Mutual Pursues Expansion Plan

Jul 14 2004 // Beacon Mutual Insurance Co., Rhode Island’s largest workers’ compensation insurance writer that was formed in 1990 as a state fund, is taking steps to write coverage outside of the state. The Warwick company...

WCRI: Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp Medical Costs Per Claim Grow at Double-Digit Rate

Jul 14 2004 // The average medical payment for workers’ compensation claims in Pennsylvania rose nearly 14 percent during the most recent period studied, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute...

Fla. DFS Fines Workers’ Comp Carriers, Self-Insured Plans More than $875,000 for Violations

Jul 13 2004 // The Florida Department of Financial Services has fined 31 providers of workers’ compensation coverage a total of more than $875,000 for failing to fully comply with Florida law in administering workers’ comp...

Citations, Fines Issued for Hazards at Ark. Worksite

Jul 13 2004 // An Arkansas utility installation company’s alleged failure to protect employees from trenching and excavation hazards has resulted in proposed penalties of $95,000 from the U.S. Department of Labor’s...

Garamendi Announces Downward Trend in California Workers’ Comp Rates

Jul 13 2004 // Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced that received workers’ compensation rate filings illustrate a downward trend, but still fall short of his pure premium rate advisory of -20.9 percent issued on May 28,...

California State Fund’s Fraud Program Nets $5 Million from Fraud Convictions

Jul 12 2004 // State Compensation Insurance Fund’s anti-fraud program has enabled statewide district attorneys to win more than $5 million in restitution orders. The restitution judgments are a direct result of 155 premium fraud...

N.Y. Department to Hold Supplemental Public Hearing on Proposed Workers’ Comp Rate Hike

Jul 9 2004 // The New York State Insurance Department has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, July 13, to consider the application of the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board for a workers’ compensation insurance...

Calif. Commissioner Identifies Steps for State Fund to Reduce Workers’ Comp Rates

Jul 9 2004 // Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi released a statutorily mandated report on the State Compensation Insurance Fund’s (SCIF’s) potential to reduce workers’ comp rates based on his review of its...

Houston Man Indicted for Comp Fraud

Jul 9 2004 // The Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that a Travis County grand jury recently indicted Sergio Garcia on charges related to workers’ compensation fraud. If convicted, Garcia could face fines, restitution and...

Ohio BWC Releases List of Non-Compliant Employers

Jul 9 2004 // In an effort to bring attention to employers that are not paying their workers’ compensation premiums, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) has released the names of the top 150 Ohio businesses with...

ISO Unveils New COA Claims-Handling Solution

Jul 9 2004 // ISO has bolstered its ISO Claims Outcome Advisor (COA) with a workers’ compensation claims-handling solution. ISO’s new Workers’ Compensation COA solution addresses the rising costs of payments for lost...

Ninth Annual N.C. Workers’ Comp Conference Set

Jul 8 2004 // The Ninth Annual North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference will take place Sept. 29 – Oct. 1 in Durham. Registration on site begins at 10 a.m., and the conference program begins at 1 p.m. The...

Workers’ Comp Benefits Increase 2.3 Percent with Cost of Living

Jul 7 2004 // Workers currently receiving Washington workers’ compensation time-loss or pension benefits received a 2.3 percent cost-of-living increase effective July 1. The new maximum monthly benefit is $3,879.40 or 120 percent...

AIA: California Work Comp Reforms Produce Average 26 Percent Rate Shift

Jul 7 2004 // The American Insurance Association announced that recently enacted reform legislation passed in 2003 and this past spring has prompted a 26 percent swing in average workers’ compensation rates. Conducted by AIA, a...

SB 899 Workers’ Comp Classes Scheduled in California

Jul 7 2004 // To help agents gain insight and clear understanding of SB 899’s many changes, Insurance Skills Center will be running SB 899 workshops in July. The class will be offered on the following dates and will take place at...

Tenn. Legislature Backs Workers’ Comp Reform Bill; Industry-Related Bills Also See Attention

Jul 7 2004 // The 2004 Tennessee General Assembly passed a number of insurance-related bills this year, including several on the use of credit scoring, workers’ compensation and tort reform measures. “We’re especially...

PCI: Blanco Should Veto La. Work Comp Bill

Jul 6 2004 // Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco should veto Senate Bill 432, which addresses workers’ compensation, as trial lawyers would be the only group that would stand to profit at the expense of deserving consumers, according...

Gov. Schwarzenegger Appoints Three Members to State Fund Board

Jul 6 2004 // Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the appointments of Jeanne Cain, Kent Dagg and Vincent Mudd to the State Compensation Insurance Fund Board. Cain was also named chairwoman by the governor. “Reinvigorating the...

R.I.’s Beacon Mutual to Expand into Other States for Workers’ Comp

Jul 5 2004 // Beacon Mutual Insurance Co., Rhode Island’s largest workers’ compensation insurance writer that was formed in 1990 as a state fund, is taking steps to write coverage outside of the state. The Warwick company...