Q&A
Mark Wilhelm CEO
Brokers must advocate for change
SAFETY NATIONAL
How did Safety National get started?
Years in the industry 40+ Fast fact Wilhelm became CEO of Safety National in 2009 after serving as president and chief underwriting officer
As the Third Reich marched across Europe, Insurers Service Corporation [ISC], a small St. Louis brokerage and third-party administrator, began to worry about its insurance coverage placed through Lloyd’s of London. In response, ISC’s owner, Elmer Werner, created an insurer called Safety Mutual Casualty Corporation. In 1991, after much growth, Safety Mutual demutualized to become Safety National Casualty Corporation, and in 2012, Safety National became a member of the Tokio Marine Group.
What is involved in your Safety First Grant Program? In 2014, Safety National developed the Safety First Grant Program exclusively for our policyholders. Each year, three policyholders are granted up to $10,000 for a creative solution on how to reduce the risk of employee injury and illness. The grant can be a great way for our policyholders to supplement the expense of a creative solution that will help create a safer, more productive work environment for their employees.
Safety National describes itself as a provider of alternative risk funding products such as excess workers’ compensation and deductible casualty. Are these areas typically overlooked? There was a time when self-insurance and large deductibles were considered heresy in the insurance industry. Early in my career, I was working for the largest P&C company when I was being recruited by tiny Safety
Former commissioner makes switch
A former workers’ compensation commissioner has started a new chapter in his career. Rod Bordelon, who previously served as the workers’ compensation commissioner for Texas, has moved to Austin-based Granite Public Affairs, where he will lead the company’s insurance and regulatory affairs practice. During Bordelon’s tenure as commissioner, his achievements included a host of reforms that helped secure a 50% drop in insurance premiums, as well as a number of cost savings and increased performance.
Mutual. After interviewing with Safety National, my eyes were opened to something I did not know existed, and I decided to ask the national accounts manager if he knew anything about self-insurance. If he could have, I think he would have washed my mouth out with soap. While these alternatives are much more prevalent with today’s sophisticated buyers, they are still complicated coverage structures.
What do you see as the biggest challenges in the workers’ compensation sector right now? Ever-present challenges are fraud, over-utilization of medical procedures, lawyers attempting to circumvent exclusive remedy, treatment of independent contractors, fair compensation for disability, and efficient and economical administration of all aspects of workers’ compensation. The newer challenges include subsets of the constant challenges – specifically, attorney challenges to the exclusive remedy doctrine based on constitutionality, the use of medical marijuana as a cause of injury or a treatment for injury, the opioid epidemic created by over-prescription, and the gig economy’s impact on the definition of employee.
How can brokers address these challenges? As representatives of the employers that must buy workers’ compensation, brokers have an obligation to not only inform and educate employers about these challenges, but also to help them to advocate for change and improvement.
Legacy Capital Group purchased by OneDigital
OneDigital Health and Benefits has moved to acquire the employee benefits arm of Legacy Capital Group, which has three locations in Arkansas. According to OneDigital, Legacy principal Raymond Raphael and his team will continue serving the firm’s clients while expanding their capabilities, expertise and benefits solutions. “Raymond has built an impressive operation within the Arkansas market, and we look forward to continuing that growth,” said Wally Dawson, regional managing principal of OneDigital Southeast.
California woman pleads guilty to WC fraud
A woman from Redondo Beach, California, has pleaded guilty to participating in a $150 million workers’ compensation fraud scam. According to a Daily Breeze report, Marissa Nelson was among 12 people accused of fraudulently billing insurance companies for the likes of prescription medication, fake MRIs and fraudulent surgeries. Nelson, who worked as a personal assistant for an orthopedic surgeon, admitted guilt to one count of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
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