Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Updated: Insurance Premium Discounts, Other Relief Offered During Coronavirus Crisis
May 1 2020 // The group of property/casualty insurers offering auto insurance premium discounts to recognize that insureds are driving less during the coronavirus crisis continues to grow, and now includes all major auto insurers. Most...
Trump Administration Defends Workplace Safety Record During Coronavirus Crisis
May 1 2020 // U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia on Thursday defended his department’s handling of workplace safety during the coronavirus pandemic, saying “the cop is on the beat” in response to union criticism about...
ClearPath Mutual of Kentucky Hires Stoller, Appoints Korsan to New Role
Apr 30 2020 // ClearPath Mutual Insurance has appointed Don Stoller as the company’s director of Underwriting, and Bob Korsan as vice president of Business Development. Don Stoller Stoller most recently held the position of master...
Markel Estimates COVID-19 Losses of $325 Million
Apr 30 2020 // Diverging from strategies of some competitors, Markel Corp. established a big reserve for a chunk of its potential COVID-19 exposure for the entire year—putting up $325 million for direct potential losses. The holding...
Maryland Insurance Administration Approves Temporary Rule Change for Workers’ Comp
Apr 30 2020 // The Maryland Insurance Administration has reviewed and approved a filing from its authorized workers’ compensation rating organization, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), regarding a temporary...
NAMIC Applauds Repeal of Illinois Workers’ Comp Expansion Rules
Apr 28 2020 // In a statement released by the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, Andrew Perkins, NAMIC regional vice president – Great Lakes, applauded the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission’s...
McClain Appointed as Arkansas’ New Insurance Commissioner
Apr 27 2020 // Alan McClain is now Arkansas Insurance Commissioner — its 24th — having been named to lead the Arkansas Insurance Department (AID) by Gov. Asa Hutchinson in early April. He previously has served as Commissioner of...
U.S. Issues New Coronavirus Safety Guidance for Meat, Poultry Plants
Apr 27 2020 // The U.S. Labor Department issued new guidelines on Sunday for U.S. meatpacking and meat-processing plants that have seen a rash of coronavirus outbreaks, saying employees should be spaced at least 6 feet (1.8 m) apart and...
Illinois Business Groups Sue Over Expanded Workers’ Comp Eligibility Rules
Apr 24 2020 // New emergency rules enacted by Illinois workers’ compensation regulators have drawn a lawsuit by a pair of trade associations representing retailers and manufacturers in the state. The Illinois Manufacturers’...
California Workers’ Comp Report Shows Written Premium Down 6% in 2019
Apr 23 2020 // Workers’ compensation written premium in California for calendar year 2019 was 6% below that for calendar year 2018, according to an update on California statewide insurer experience valued as of Dec.31, 2019. The...
Travelers, W.R. Berkley CEOs Sound Alarm Over Coronavirus Lawsuits, Workers’ Comp
Apr 23 2020 // During an earnings conference call Tuesday, the leader of Travelers insurance alerted listeners to the possibility that frivolous lawsuits by plaintiffs lawyers could slow down the economic recovery from COVID-19...
Travelers Sees Q1 Profit Fall From Storms; It’s Watching COVID-19 Workers’ Comp Claims
Apr 21 2020 // Property and casualty insurer Travelers Cos. Inc. reported a 25% drop in quarterly profit on Tuesday and warned that potential claims tied to compensation coverage for furloughed and laid-off employees would hit results...
California Workers’ Comp Bureau to Restrict COVID-19 Experience, Payroll in Rating
Apr 21 2020 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has submitted a special regulatory filing to the California Insurance Commissioner with proposals to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The WCIRB governing...
States Easing Path to Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Coronavirus Workers
Apr 21 2020 // Sympathetic state lawmakers and regulators in states both red and blue promise to make COVID-19 a major cost driver for workers’ compensation insurers. The governors of Kentucky, Arkansas, North Dakota and Florida...
California State Fund to Accept All Essential Worker COVID Claims; Adds to Safety Fund
Apr 20 2020 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund on Monday announced another series of actions designed to support policyholders and workers affected by the COVID-19 crisis, including doubling the size of its newly...
Layoffs, Small Business Exits Likely Major Coronavirus Effects on Workers’ Comp: NCCI
Apr 20 2020 // A new analysis of the economic effects of the coronavirus finds that while layoffs of workers will have the most immediate effect on workers’ compensation, a rise in business failures could pose a major challenge...
Employers May Exclude Payroll to Employees Not Working for Workers’ Comp: NCCI
Apr 20 2020 // Businesses that have suspended operations due to COVID-19 but continue to pay employees who are at home but not working will not have to include the payroll paid to these employees in the calculation of their...
Florida Directs Workers’ Comp Insurers to Comply with COVID-19 Treatment Order
Apr 20 2020 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has issued an informational memorandum to all insurers and entities authorized to write workers’ compensation insurance providing guidance on the treatment of policyholders...
California Workers’ Comp to Exclude COVID-19 From Rating, Payroll
Apr 17 2020 // The governing committee of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California on Friday voted unanimously for a special regulatory filing that includes excluding COVID-19 claims from the experience...
OSHA Inspectors to Prioritize Health Facilities Over Other Sites During Coronavirus Crisis
Apr 15 2020 // The U.S. agency that enforces workplace safety laws has said it will prioritize work site inspections of healthcare facilities over other “essential” businesses that remain open during the coronavirus...
