UPFRONT
WORKERS’ COMP UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS Employers Insurance Company moves into Hawaii
Employers Insurance Company has expanded its workers’ compensation offering to Hawaii. This means Employers now provides a competitive workers’ compensation insurance option to small businesses in all states, except the four where the sale of workers’ compensation insurance by private insurers is prohibited. Commenting on the expansion, Employers Holdings president and CEO Douglas D. Dirks said the move will position the carrier as “a trusted partner to agents and small business policyholders nationwide.”
Davies Group acquires workers’ comp claims administrator
UK-based Davies Group has acquired workers’ compensation and P&C thirdparty administrator Alternative Service Concepts [ASC]. Based in Nashville, ASC offers specialist end-to-end claims solutions to US and Lloyd’s insurance businesses, public entities, self-insured entities, insurance agencies and brokers across the country. ASC will join Davies Group’s North American Claims Solutions business, together with Frontier Adjusters, which Davies acquired in mid-September. ASC will create a new TPA division within Claims Solutions, allowing Davies Group to offer a turn-key solution to clients throughout the US. The deal marks Davies Group’s sixth acquisition so far in 2019.
S1 Medical and Sapiens team up to launch ClaimsGo
Independent cost containment and medical management firm S1 Medical has partnered with software solutions provider Sapiens International to
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introduce Sapiens ClaimsGo, a fully hosted solution for specialized and quick administration of workers’ compensation policies and claims. The joint offering will debut at Broward County Public Schools, the sixth largest school district in the country. “Our goal is to provide a more seamless, full-rounded workers’ compensation claims solution to Broward County, with expedited communication between the school boards, the claimants and the providers,” said Jackie Janowiak, specialty program manager at Sapiens.
Texas repairman convicted of workers’ comp fraud
Midland, Texas-based appliance repairman Joe D. Lozano Sr. has been sentenced to pay $6,049 and spend one day in jail for engaging in doubledipping workers’ compensation fraud. According to Texas Mutual Insurance Company, Lozano was found to be working as a self-employed appliance repairman while also collecting workers’ comp benefits from Texas Mutual from a job-related injury he suffered while working as a repairman for A & A Appliance in Midland.
Pie Insurance continues to take a bigger market slice
Pie Insurance has been approved to provide small business-focused workers’ compensation insurance in Rhode Island and Vermont. “Pie has seen fantastic growth throughout 2019,” said CEO John Swigart. “In January, Pie provided workers’ compensation coverage in 10 states. Now in October, that number has jumped to include 31 states and Washington, DC. With our launches in Rhode Island and Vermont, we’re able to help small business owners in these states save up to 30% on workers’ compensation insurance with an online process that is truly as easy as pie.”
Making safety a priority Safer workplaces are better not only for employees, but also a company’s bottom line The correlation between workers’ compensation claims, premiums and an organization’s commitment to safety is a very direct one. The relationship between a company’s loss history and its workers’ comp premiums is referred to as an experience modifier – and unsurprisingly, employers that have a safe workplace generally see an experience modifier that’s better than average, and they pay less for workers’ comp. Even a single event with medical treatment can cause higher rates, and it’s even worse if a trend develops and injuries start accumulating. “Workplace incidents can have a much greater negative effect on a smaller company than on a larger one, and a single lapse in safety can lead to higher premiums,” says Brad Wilkins, senior loss control specialist at AmTrust North America. “It’s a great incentive for small employers to put energy into safety.” An effective workplace safety program is made up of four pillars, according to OSHA’s Small Business Handbook: management commitment and worker involvement; work-site analysis; hazard prevention and control; and training of workers, supervisors and managers. “If a leader’s attitude towards their company’s safety reflects how important it is to the daily operations, then the workers’ behavior is going to reflect that,” Wilkins explains. “Effective safety only works in a sustained way when it comes from the top down, and management should clearly communicate the program and involve [employees] in devel-
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25/10/2019 3:51:43 AM