UPFRONT
WORKERS’ COMP UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS AmTrust advises companies to plan coronavirus contingencies
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to expand across the US, Jeff Corder, vice president of loss control at workers’ comp insurer AmTrust North America, is warning businesses of the importance of preparing for a pandemic. “I recommend that companies start planning now and build contingencies to account for absenteeism and the slow spread of the virus because it will help their business in the long run,” Corder said, suggesting that businesses physically run through their contingency plans with management and employees to identify potential gaps if certain workers are out of the office as a result of the virus.
ICW Group kicks off safety-focused webinar series
ICW Group Insurance Companies has launched a series of safety-focused webinars. Aimed at educating ICW Group’s workers’ comp policyholders on best practices to keep workers safe, the free series includes bimonthly, hour-long webinars. While the series is designed for ICW Group customers, anyone can register to attend. “The ICW Group Safety Webinar Series is designed to teach businesses actionable ways to improve safety right now and build a culture of safety within their organization,” said ICW risk management vice president Rick Fineman.
Traveller Assist lands US defense base assistance contract
Chubb has appointed Traveller Assist, a specialist in medical and security assistance in complex environments, as a claims and assistance provider for its new Defense Base Act (DBA) workers’ compensation coverage. Traveller Assist will provide additional
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claims and assistance services to workers under US military contracts in Kurdistan, Turkey, Jordan, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and parts of Africa, helping workers to submit claims, schedule hospital consultations, coordinate physiotherapy appointments and book associated travel.
biBERK teams up with Bold Penguin on digital platform
Berkshire Hathaway firm biBERK has joined forces with commercial insurance technology provider Bold Penguin to make its workers’ compensation coverage available digitally. The integration will allow agents and brokers who use Bold Penguin’s platform to access biBERK’s comprehensive suite of workers’ comp products. “Efficiency is key in quoting small commercial,” said Bold Penguin founder and CEO Ilya Bodner. “By welcoming additional key carriers to our platform, we’re allowing them and their distribution partners to reduce the number of screens, portals and access points necessary to get to a quick and accurate quote.”
Delaware to see $4 million in workers’ comp premium savings
After three consecutive years of workers’ comp rate decreases, businesses in Delaware are set to realize more than $4 million in premium savings in 2020, according to the Delaware Department of Insurance, which examined filings from the state’s top writers of workers’ compensation insurance. “Delaware businesses large and small are seeing decreased premiums from the third consecutive year of workers’ compensation rate decreases, and that benefits everyone,” said Delaware State Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro. “We will continue to work to make sure that Delaware has an inviting atmosphere for businesses and safe environments for employees.”
Holding doctors to account Citing a “defined delta” between workers’ comp and private claims, one expert is calling on the industry to promote evidence-based medicine A leader in the workers’ comp space is calling on insurers to start holding doctors accountable for what he describes as a “defined delta” between workers’ compensation claims and private health or non-occupational disability claims. Christopher Schaffer, the president and chief executive of Charles Taylor TPA, says this delta reflects the trend of workers’ comp claims costing more and taking longer to resolve than private healthcare claims in the non-occupational environment. “There’s just no reason for that,” he says. “If you’re injured at work, there’s no reason why it should cost more or take longer to recover than if you were injured outside of work – and yet that’s what’s happening. It’s a delta that’s easy to identify, and the workers’ compensation doctors are complicit in that delta. I think we as an industry have to try to close that delta and hold doctors to account.” One way the insurance industry can do this, Schaffer says, is by promoting evidencebased medicine and using claims data to challenge the status quo. “We can use scientific and evidence-based data to challenge workers’ compensation doctors if their treatment is not performing as well as their peers and colleagues in the wider healthcare industry,” he says. “It’s important to highlight that. If doctors are only treating workers’ compensation claimants, they might not see or feel the differences
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13/03/2020 3:05:46 AM