Workers Compensation Audit Refunds
January 31, 2013
Apex Services recently wrote another article on obtaining workers compensation audit refunds.
Workers Compensation Audit Dispute
January 31, 2013
Apex Services has published an article about new solutions for employers to dispute workers compensation audit bills and obtain refunds.
Workers Comp Reform Plan in New York Praised by NAMIC
PropertyCasualty360
January 11, 2013
The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies praised New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his call to reform the state’s workers’ compensation insurance system, with the goal of bringing savings to businesses and competition to the marketplace.
In a statement, NAMIC State Affairs Manager John Murphy says, “NAMIC applauds Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s on-going commitment to improving New York’s workers’ compensation system. NAMIC supports many of the workers’ compensation reforms outlined in the governor’s State of the State address. We look forward to reviewing the proposed legislation and working with the governor and legislature to enhance and strengthen the system.”
The remarks came after Cuomo delivered his 2013 address, in which he laid out an ambitious agenda touching on gun control, economic development, clean technology and education.
In comments about workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance, Cuomo said his aim is to lower costs for doing business in the state and save businesses $1.3 billion. He also said he plans to increase unemployment benefits to workers for the first time since 1999.
“We must continue to reduce the cost of doing business in the new New York,” Cuomo said in his State of the State address. “We must reduce the crushing burden of unemployment insurance and workers’ comp. You hear this from almost every businessman in New York.”
The governor’s plan, as outlined in a 300-plus page book detailing his agenda for 2013, calls for legislation to:
- Provide savings to New York State’s employers.
- Eliminate unnecessary friction in the system.
- Alleviate, and ultimately resolve, the burden facing employers who are members of an insolvent group self-insured trust.
- Simplify and reduce assessments on employers.
- Promote system-wide transparency, efficiency, equity and consistency.
- Create more competition in the insurance market.
To eliminate the debt 10,000 businesses in the GSIT program face, the governor calls for a bonding program to purchase assumption of liability policies “associated with defaulted GSITs.”
Workers’ comp assessments would also become “more equitable and transparent” under the governor’s plan. The practice of assessments being billed separately would be replaced by one assessment to allow for the calculation of worker’s comp. The calculation would be based on “overall anticipated yearly expenses of the system” and would be assessed on all employers “based on an equitable and transparent formula.”
This would make assessments efficient for the state and lessen carriers’ administrative burden “of assessment collection and payment.”
Cuomo’s proposals would close unnecessary funds, such as the fund for reopened cases, which would generate “immediate annual assessment savings” of $300 million to the state’s employers.
The governor emphasizes that the legislation to reform the workers’ comp program would “provide greater transparency, equity and security to all stakeholders without infringing upon the right of injured workers.”
This is great news for New York employers. Hopefully these savings will last in the long term. However, workers comp insurance tends to be cyclical. Short-term solutions will end up translating into long-term savings only if Governor Cuomo is successful in sustaining reduced costs. However, if the state finds itself unable to carry the $1 billion in costs, then the way I see it, in a few years rates will be going up dramatically with no real long-term savings to show for these reforms.
Either way, reducing your company's current and past experience mods, as well as reducing all the other policy factors, will give you a great advantage in terms of your workers compensation insurance. With workers compensation premium recovery, you can obtain refunds on past policies and reduce your current monthly installments, with future savings for you to keep.
Workers Comp Premium Recovery Can Help Avoid Being Forced into NY Safety Programs
If you are a New York employer with a payroll greater than $800,000 and an experience modification greater than 1.20, you have been forced to comply with Code Rule 59 which calls for employers to develop a workplace safety program and have it certified by the Department of Labor if the rating board notifies you that the program is required.
Employers must hire a certified consultant to develop the program and then report that the plan is under development to the Department of Labor. The employer is then given six months to develop the plan and submit it to the appropriate insurance carrier, which also must approve the program and submit it to the Department of Labor for approval. This process is very cumbersome, difficult, and ultimately expensive for employers.
If you are a New York employer who has been forced into this program, you are now paying a consultant thousands of dollars to help you implement this program.
If you are a New York employer who has a debit mod above 1.00 and may very well be approaching a mod that will exceed the 1.20 mod, you will also soon be facing paying a consultant thousands of dollars in consulting fees to implement this program.
Workers compensation premium recovery offers employers to reduce their current and prior experience mods on a no-recovery no-fee basis, obtain significant refunds, and have a better underwriting profile to enter the renewal marketplace with in a much shorter timespan than the possible 400 days that it takes to complete the process of being in compliance with Code 59.
N.J. Workers’ Comp Division Proposes 2% Raise in Weekly Benefit Rates
Insurance Journal
September 12, 2012
New Jersey’s Division of Workers’ Compensation has recently proposed an amendment that would increase the 2013 maximum weekly benefit rates from $810 to $826. The rates would be applicable for temporary disability, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, and dependency under the Workers’ Compensation Law.
The proposed 2013 maximum benefit rate represents a 2.0 percent increase in the current maximum benefit rate.
Officials said the proposed amendment will ensure that payments to workers’ comp recipients entitled to maximum benefits will increase in line with the upward trend of wages in the state’s economy — thus preserving the real purchasing power of their benefits.
A public hearing on the proposed amendment will be held on Oct. 2, at the Trenton office of New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Interested parties can contact the Office of Legal and Regulatory Services to submit written comments or to be included on the list of speakers for the hearing.
The increase in maximum weekly benefits in New Jersey is yet another sign that there will be a rise in workers compensation costs. The higher the benefits are, there is a higher risk for cases of fraud, where employees in the bigger pay brackets will be more likely to stay out of work because their workers comp benefits will be comparable to their salaries. If you are an employer who is trying to keep a lid on your workers compensation insurance, there is no quicker and easier way than workers comp premium recovery. Get refunds on your current and prior years' policies, as well as a better underwriting profile to enter the new marketplace with.