Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
North Dakota Employers’ Workers’ Comp Bills Likely to Rise
Jun 23 2009 // Eight months after North Dakota voters gave Gov. John Hoeven the final word on state workers’ compensation rates, employers’ insurance bills are likely to rise as a consequence of the recent bleak market for...
Fireman’s Fund Insurance Aims to Expand Beyond Niche Markets
Jun 22 2009 // Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., based in Novato, Calif., is planning on expanding its product lines to reach a broader customer base, according to company executives. In an exclusive interview with Insurance Journal,...
Worker Injured When Floor in New York Building Collapse
Jun 22 2009 // A construction worker is recovering after a concrete ramp in a Buffalo, New York parking garage collapsed as he operated a compact construction vehicle. Authorities say 47-year-old Timothy Skalski was driving a payloader...
Arkansas Agent Arrested on Fraud Charges
Jun 22 2009 // Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford announced the arrest of Rickey Lynn Warren of Hensley, a former a licensed insurance agent charged with insurance fraud. Warren is accused with taking checks totaling $2,125 for...
Lower Premiums Cut Total Cost of Risk for Commercial Insureds by 9.4%
Jun 19 2009 // Despite the economic turmoil and the second worst year for insured natural catastrophe losses, the total cost of risk paid by businesses dropped in 2008 by 9.4 percent per $1,000 of revenue. The drop was largely...
Did Florida’s 2003 Reforms Reduce Workers’ Comp Attorney Involvement?
Jun 18 2009 // After Florida limited the fees paid to attorneys in workers’ compensation in 2003, attorney involvement in cases fell only slightly, according to new research. A significant proportion of Florida workers injured at...
Officials Looking to Catch Few Bad Apples Among P/C Insurance Agents
Jun 17 2009 // Those who track insurance criminals for a living say that as the economy has worsened, insurance fraud has been on the rise– and they are on the alert for any jump in fraud by property/casualty agents and...
Study: California Workers’ Comp Claims Climbed 23%, Despite Reforms
Jun 17 2009 // A new California Workers’ Compensation Institute study on post-reform changes in California workers’ compensation medical payments confirms that since accident year (AY) 2005, insurer payments for treatment,...
Minnesota Workers’ Comp Claims Fall, But Cost Per Claim Rising
Jun 17 2009 // Minnesota’s Department of Labor and Industry has released its annual “Annual Minnesota Workers’ Compensation System Report,” that indicates the number of paid workers’ compensation claims fell...
Louisiana Workers’ Comp Insurer Names New Chief Investment Officer
Jun 17 2009 // Amerisafe Inc., a DeRidder, La.-based specialty writer of high hazard workers’ compensation insurance, has appointed Brendan Gau as executive vice president and chief investment officer. Gau’s appointment is...
Ohio High Court: Employer not Eligible for Work Comp Benefits Refund
Jun 17 2009 // The Supreme Court of Ohio has ruled that a double dismissal of a workers’ compensation appeal does not entitle an employer to a refund of compensation benefits from the state. Specifically, according to the Ohio high...
Declarations
Jun 15 2009 // Good Dogs, Bad Employer “We gave the employer every opportunity to comply with the law.” —Jan Eisbart, manager of the Insurance Compliance Division of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. The...
People
Jun 15 2009 // Burns & Wilcox reported that Kendra Corman has joined the company as its new marketing director. Corman is responsible for managing the company’s advertising and marketing initiatives, which includes overseeing...
Florida Cuts Workers’ Comp Rates After Lawyer Fee Cap Reinstated
Jun 15 2009 // Florida’s insurance regulator has approved a rollback of workers’ compensation insurance rates from April 1 rates to the lower rates that were in effect on Jan. 1. The order by Florida Insurance Commissioner...
Former Alabama Workers’ Comp Executive Goff Sentenced to 12 Years
Jun 15 2009 // A former Montgomery, Alabama insurance executive has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for mail fraud and embezzlement in his insurance business. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson imposed the sentence on John...
Oregon Workers’ Comp Payments Up 3.4%
Jun 15 2009 // Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services has published a report examining trends in medical costs during 2000-2007. According to the report, for the period studied, total workers’ compensation...
Pressure Is On to Catch a Few Bad Apples
Jun 15 2009 // Fraud Investigators on Alert to Prevent Property/Casualty Agent Abuses from Spreading Those who track insurance criminals for a living say that as the economy has worsened, insurance fraud has been on the rise — and...
Regulator: California Workers’ Comp Insurance Rating Bureau Needs to Address Challenges
Jun 15 2009 // The California Department of Insurance has released an audit report of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau. Among the recommendations are that WCIRB should: Begin to collect the detailed,...
Missouri Insurance Department Names Two New Division Leaders
Jun 12 2009 // The Missouri Department of Insurance has appointed two veteran insurance regulators to division director positions. Mary Kempker has been name to direct the Market Regulation Division. Kempker has worked at the department...
Appalachian Launches Pay-As-You-Go Work Comp, GL Programs
Jun 12 2009 // Appalachian Underwriters Inc., based in Oak Ridge, Tenn., has launched true pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) general liability and workers’ compensation programs, developed specifically for clients of professional employer...
