Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
2015 Tennessee Insurance Legislation Wrap-Up
Jul 9 2015 // Below is a summary of Tennessee legislation that pertains to insurance enacted in 2015. Uninsured Motorist, “James Lee Atwood Jr. Law” The James Lee Atwood Jr. Law, named for a driver who was killed by an...
Small Number Causing California Worker’s Comp Review Excess
Jul 8 2015 // A small number of physicians are responsible for a large portion of the independent medical review of worker’s compensation cases in California, a process that could be costing payers in excess of $100 million, a...
Mass. Dept. of Industrial Accidents Assessment Rate Lowered to 5.75%
Jul 6 2015 // The Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) reduced the assessment that private employers pay to the state on workers’ compensation policies to 5.75 percent of the policy premium for the new fiscal...
Agents Need to Know About Texas Workers’ Comp E-Mod Changes
Jul 6 2015 // The number 1.00 means different things to different people. In baseball, 1.00 represents a perfect batting average. But in college, a 1.00 grade point average is about as bad as it gets. In workers’ compensation, a...
Summary of 2015 Tennessee Insurance Legislation
Jul 6 2015 // Below is a summary of Tennessee legislation that pertains to insurance enacted in 2015. Public Chapter 152 – Enacts the “Protection of Volunteer-Insured Drivers of the Elderly (PROVIDE) Act.” Grants...
Report: California Workers’ Comp Losses and Expenses for 2014 Rise, Ratios Fall
Jul 1 2015 // Insurer losses and expenses rose in 2014 from the year before but ratios fell, a California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau report on workers’ comp losses and expenses for 2014 shows. The report...
Tort, Work Comp Reform Among Illinois Gov.’s Budget Holdouts
Jun 30 2015 // Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has an answer to the state Capitol budget impasse: adopt five “structural reforms” that make it cheaper to do business in Illinois. House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago calls the...
New Mexico Court Rules Farm, Ranch Laborers Eligible for Workers’ Comp
Jun 30 2015 // The New Mexico Court of Appeals has cleared the way for farm and ranch laborers to receive workers’ compensation benefits. In a ruling issued this week, the court declared unconstitutional a provision in state law...
Ninth Circuit Court Upholds California’s Workers’ Comp Liens
Jun 30 2015 // The U.S. Ninth Circuit court on Monday upheld California’s fee requirement on workers’ compensation liens. The lien fees were a key part of Senate Bill 863, the workers’ comp reform bill passed in 2012....
Redpoint Insurance Acquiring Hallmark Workers’ Comp Business
Jun 25 2015 // Dallas-based Redpoint Insurance Group LLC is purchasing the workers’ compensation business of American Hallmark Insurance Co. of Texas, located in Austin. The acquisition is expected to close effective July 1, 2015....
NYSIF Issues Update on Elimination of WCB Fees, Weekly Benefit Rate
Jun 22 2015 // The New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) issued an update on June 19 noting that Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced the elimination of a number of Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) fees as a part of the 2015-16...
Owner of Mass. Asbestos Abatement Firm Indicted for Work Comp Fraud
Jun 22 2015 // A Massachusetts man who owns an asbestos abatement company has been indicted for allegedly failing to accurately report the nature of his company’s work to avoid paying thousands of dollars in insurance...
WCRI: Georgia Workers Comp Indemnity Benefits Key Cost Contributor
Jun 22 2015 // Indemnity benefits per claim with more than seven days of lost time in Georgia were among the highest of the 17 study states and the main contributor to the higher total costs per claim in the state, according to a recent...
How Ruling That Drivers Are Employees Upends Uber Business Model
Jun 19 2015 // If you’re a freelance writer who occasionally sells articles to a website, are you actually an employee? If you live in California, I think the answer might be — yes? The California Labor commissioner has ruled...
Missouri Manufacturer Cited for Worker’s Death, Fined $71K
Jun 17 2015 // The federal government has cited a Springfield, Mo.-based manufacturer after a worker at the company plant died in January. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Ridewell Corp. with a willful violation...
Florida Busts Major Workers’ Comp Fraud Scam Involving Multiple Shell Companies
Jun 16 2015 // Six Central Florida insurance fraud arrests that break down an elaborate Central Florida workers’ compensation insurance fraud scheme were made this week, according to an announcement by Florida Chief Financial...
Data Breach ID’d in North Dakota Workers’ Comp Agency
Jun 15 2015 // A state server containing information from North Dakota’s workers’ compensation agency was breached, but it’s unlikely any personal information was stolen, state officials announced. Mike Ressler, the...
South Carolina Jumps Aboard Workers’ Compensation Alternative Bandwagon
Jun 15 2015 // A South Carolina lawmaker has introduced workers’ compensation option legislation that would allow qualified businesses in the state to offer their own injury benefit plan to employees. The state is the second one...
Workers’ Compensation Eyes Telemedicine As Treatment Option
Jun 12 2015 // Cost savings, better access to care, immediate triaging of injuries and faster claims closings are just some of the benefits of telemedicine, according to workers’ compensation experts, who also say its use is...
ICW Group Appoints Douglas to Lead Texas Market
Jun 12 2015 // San Diego, Calif.-based ICW Group Insurance Cos. has named Gina Douglas branch manager in Texas. Based in Austin, she will oversee business development, agent outreach and workers’ compensation underwriting in the...
