Worker’s Comp Reforms, Portable Persistency Top West’s 2012 Headlines

Dec. 21, 2012 came and went and the apocalypse was so lackluster as to be forgotten among the year’s myriad headlines. Now that we are all well and good, and past doomsday, here are Insurance Journal’s best headlines in the West for 2012:

December

Farmers Agents Sue Carrier Over Contracts, Taking Client Info

A group of Farmers Group Inc. agents filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging the Los Angeles, Calif.-based carrier has undercut them by sharing their data with a competing subsidiary and committing several contract violations.

November

Calif. Prop. 33 Defeated

California’s Proposition 33, the 2012 Automobile Insurance Discount Act, was defeated with 54.6 percent voting against it, while it got 45.4 “yes” votes. Proposition 17, a similar portable persistency discount initiative in 2010, lost by 2 percent.

October

Calif. State Fund Board: Drop Rates 7%

California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund’s board voted for a 7 percent decrease in its 2013 rates, a move that reflects State Fund’s anticipated savings from a workers’ compensation reform law that took effect on Jan. 1.

September

Brown Signs Calif. Workers’ Comp Bill

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill to increase disability benefits for injured workers while taking a bite out of the rising cost of workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

Agents, Brokers to Deal with State Fund Wholesalers

California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund will now require most of the roughly 5,000 brokers and agents the entity deals with to go through one of two wholesalers. An estimated 3,500 agents and brokers will be impacted.

August

Workers’ Comp Deal in the Works for California

In a hush-hush environment over the last several months it appears that those who seek workers’ compensation reform have been given hope, despite the looming close to California’s legislative session.

July

Report: Insured Losses in Colorado Wildfires Nearly $450 Million

The two most destructive wildfires in Colorado’s history will cost insurers roughly $450 million, a regional insurance association said.

June

Colorado Fire Threatens Thousands of Residences

The Waldo Canyon Wildfire in Colorado in the state’s second most populous city has reportedly destroyed hundreds of homes – and that number may get much higher.

May

Nevada Issues First Autonomous Vehicle Test License to Google

The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has approved an application for a license by Google Inc. to test autonomous vehicles on Nevada public roads.

April

California State Fund Cancels Layoffs

California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund is cancelling plans to lay off hundreds of workers. State Fund President and CEO Tom Rowe issued a message to staff that stated 1,300 workers have left since the state’s largest workers’ compensation insurer announced last year it would axe up to 1,800 jobs.

March

Lawyer Claims Highest Known Workers’ Comp Settlement in California History

Attorney Christopher Asvar believes he has secured the highest known workers’ compensation insurance settlement in California history, totaling $8.9 million on behalf of a Antonio Enriquez, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2004 at the age of 18 after falling from a scaffold.

February

Electronic Proof of Insurance Gaining Steam in Some States

A California legislator’s bill to enable auto insurance policyholders to issue proof of coverage verification via a mobile electronic device, such as a smartphone, is among several similar bills in at least a handful of states in various stages of passage.

January

California Insurance Commissioner, Insurers Settle on Iran Investments

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and a group of insurers have settled litigation over insurer investments in companies doing business in Iran.

Topics California Carriers Agencies Workers' Compensation Wildfire Colorado Nevada