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"Mining & Energy"
A new study from the University of Iowa College of Public Health has found that traffic accidents involving farm vehicles in the Midwest would decrease by more than 50 percent if state policies required more lighting and reflection on those vehicles.
The study by the college’s Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health (GPCAH) compared rates of farm equipment–related crashes in nine Midwestern states in the context of the states’ policies on lighting and marking vehicles. Those states report an average of more than 1,100 farm vehicle-related crashes each year, often causing severe or fatal injuries. Continue reading
Now that the yearly task of filing personal taxes has passed, this is an opportunity to discuss another type of filing for businesses that occurs every year – the workers’ compensation and general liability audits. In comparison, insurance audits and filing taxes are similar in that both are mandatory, annually. The workers’ compensation and general liability audits are conducted at the end of each policy period to verify that the premium is correct for the exposure during the policy period. In the event there is a claim, the claim might be denied because the premium exposure for the policy term within the policy period where the claim occurred was underinsured. Continue reading
Following years of declines, the percentage of employees in the combined U.S. workforce testing positive for drugs has steadily increased over the last three years to a 10-year high. Continue reading
Some workers who are at risk for heat exhaustion are landscapers, firefighters, bakery workers, farmers, construction workers, miners, boiler room workers, lifeguards, security guards, or any one exposed to extreme heat, humidity and sun conditions during the work hours. Under OSHA law, employers are responsible for providing work places free of known safety hazards which include protecting workers from extreme heat. Continue reading
Connecticut Bookmaker Gets Prison Time in Insurance Fraud Scheme
A bookmaker who pleaded guilty to charges he shot a gambler with a stun gun and tried to burn down a Middletown restaurant in an insurance fraud scheme is headed to prison.
The Hartford Courant reports 52-year-old John Barile of East Hartford was sentenced Tuesday to 71 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty in February to charges of arson, insurance fraud, gambling and extortion. Continue reading
A left-turn at the light with oncoming traffic; the collision occurs and now you are headed to intercompany arbitration on the subrogation claim as the parties dispute who was at fault.
An all too familiar scenario for those adjusting auto losses, but an increasingly relevant fact pattern in the world of subrogation recovery. While 85-90% of all subrogation claims are resolved between carriers and self-insureds without a problem, it is the other 10-15% that can make the difference to the bottom line for insurance organizations.
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A new report released by the Travelers Companies Inc., reveals that even minor injuries can substantially impact business productivity.
The Injury Impact Report identifies the most common causes of workplace accidents and injuries through analysis of 1.5 million workers’ compensation claims filed between 2010 and 2014 from a variety of business sizes and industries. Continue reading
The property/casualty industry is undergoing significant challenges with increased claim severity in liability and physical damage claims. These increases are outpacing inflation and rate adequacy. According to the Insurance Information Institute, in 2009 the average private passenger auto bodily injury claim was $13,891. In 2014, that average grew to $16,640 – an increase of almost 20 percent. The private passenger auto collision loss ratio has risen from 67.7 percent in 2010 to 78.3 percent in 2015 – a 16 percent increase. The loss ratio can be adversely impacted by claim handling, underwriting and rate inadequacy with claim leakage as a primary cause of loss ratio deterioration. Continue reading
