Trusts Still An Unresolved Problem for Many New York Employers

November 26, 2013

The collapse of the group self-insured trusts in New York several years ago is still unresolved and causing problems for New York employers. The Workers Compensation Board has had a difficult time balancing between collecting money to pay injured workers and reaching settlements with employers who were not able to pay off their workers comp assessments. Although The Workers Compensation Board has taken several steps to help employers settle and pay off the amount they owe, about 2,500 employers have not yet reached a settlement.  WCB has now begun to sue these employers.

Many employers signed off on the Joint & Several Liability, but they never imagined getting hit with such big fees and assessments. New York employers who were a part of a trust in recent years—whether or not they’ve settled with WCB—can greatly benefit from workers compensation premium recovery. Errors in trust policies can affect several years’ mods and result in higher premiums. Although, trusts ceased to exist several years ago, some claims still affect current and even future premiums.

Correcting these errors from the trusts can result in refunds on prior years’ policies, as well as savings on current and future premiums.  Overall, workers compensation premium recovery is a simple way to recoup money paid out in the past, as well as reduce current and future workers comp premiums.

Workers Compensation Premium Recovery Helps NJ Employers with Higher 2014 Maximum Weekly Indemnity Benefits

November 11, 2013

The New Jersey Division of Workers' Compensation announced that the maximum weekly indemnity benefit for injured workers will be $843 in 2014, and the minimum weekly benefit will be $225.  This is an increase from $826 maximum weekly indemnity benefit and $220 minimum weekly benefit in 2013.

New Jersey law requires that workers on both temporary total disability and permanent total disability be paid 70% of their pre-injury wages capped at 75% of the statewide average weekly wage. State law sets the minimum weekly benefit at 20% of the statewide average weekly wage.

What this means for many New Jersey employers is that more employees with higher salaries can now afford to file a workers compensation claim and extend their lost time. More workers compensation claims are filed by more employees and these employees stay home for a longer period of time while they receive 70% of their weekly wages tax-free. As for the employers, they are left to pick up the tab on higher experience modifications and ultimately higher workers compensation insurance premiums.

New Jersey employers can reduce their current and prior years’ workers compensation premiums through workers compensation premium recovery.  This service offers to knock down experience modifications on a no-recovery no-fee basis. Employers receive refunds on old, useless policies and see reduced premiums on future years as well.

Workers Comp Insurance Assessments Down 25% in New York for 2014

October 24, 2013

Finally some great news for New York employers:  On October 23rd The New York Workers’ Compensation Board announced that New York State’s employers assessments will be at 13.8% in 2014, compared to 18.8% in 2013.  This means a 25% decrease in assessments for New York employers in 2014.

The previous system was overly complicated and employers were charged differently depending on whether they insured with private coverage, with the State Insurance Fund or by self-insuring. However, a Business Relief Act that was passed earlier this year mandated the New York Workers’ Compensation Board combine several assessments into just one assessment in order to fund the state’s workers comp system.  

New York employers, especially those who pay high annual workers comp premiums will be overjoyed with the possibility of lower workers compensation insurance costs.  What many employers don’t realize is that they may also very well be owed money due to errors and overcharges committed by their insurance companies.  Apex Services workers compensation premium recovery service reviews your current and prior workers compensation policies on a contingency basis to identify these errors and recover refunds for employers. Either we'll get you a refund from your insurance companies or you'll know that you haven't been overcharged. Lower assessments, plus a compliance audit to provide a better underwriting profile, can spell a great 2014 for a lot of New York employers.

Healthcare Workers Comp Injury Rates Among the Highest of any Profession

October 1, 2013

WorkCompWire

Workers in the healthcare industry suffer higher on the job injuries than most other professions, with more than two million reported lost work days in 2011. Despite this, the focus of safety in healthcare facilities has been primarily on patient safety, according to Safety Culture in Healthcare, The $13 Billion Case, a peer-reviewed feature in the October issue of Professional Safety, the American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) journal.

“Pick any other industry, and the injury rate is less,” explained the article’s author, Scott Harris, Ph.D., MSPH, who added that healthcare worker injury rates are only less than outdoor wilderness professions such as commercial loggers and fishermen. “The injury rates are sky high.”

Since there is only one Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspector for every 59,000 covered employees across more than eight million worksites, few inspections have occurred in healthcare facilities.

With nursing homes recording the highest injury rates among all healthcare facilities, the most frequent injury is sprains, strains, and tears to the back, primarily due to overexertion from patient handling. Slips, trips and falls, violence and chemical exposure cause other injuries, with nurses being the workers who experience the highest rate of injury.

The costs associated with healthcare worker safety, also eventually trickle down to patient medical bills. For example, the cost of injuries in hospitals in 2011 exceeded $6.1 million, which required additional patient billing to offset the expense. Similar scenarios are true in nursing and residential care facilities and ambulatory health.

“The injury side of health-care costs has to be in there somewhere,” said Harris.

However, the weak occupational safety culture in healthcare facilities has not been ignored by OSHA, which in 2012, began targeted inspections and regional and national emphasis programs, with additional inspections at nursing, residential and ambulatory care facilities scheduled in the near future.

If you are an employer in the healthcare industry, you are more than familiar with high numbers of workers comp claims and subsequently costly workers compensation premiums. Due to the high number of incidents, various developments in claims, and the large sums of money involved, insurance companies are bound to make mistakes that end up costing the employer in the form of premium overcharges. Workers compensation premium recovery is a contingency-based service that reviews your current and past years' policies and obtains refunds and credits that are owed back to the employer. This service won't take up any of your time and doesn't cost you a penny unless we succeed in getting you back money. You only pay for results, not good intentions.

Questionable Workers Compensation Claims on the Rise

September 25, 2013

National Insurance Crime Bureau

The total number of workers' compensation claims across the nation is dropping but the number of questionable claims is rising, according to a new study.

Over the last 2 1/2 years, the number of workers filing compensation claims has dropped from 3.35 million in 2011 to 3.24 million in 2012, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a nonprofit company supported by more than 1,000 insurance companies.

Based on claims filed in the first half of this year, the number is on track to drop again, the bureau said.

But in the same period, questionable claims have risen from 3,474 in 2011 to 4,460 in 2012 and are on pace to rise again in 2013, the bureau reported Tuesday.

California had the largest number of questionable workers' compensation claims each year, but when ranked by claims per 100,000 residents, Delaware came out at the top of the list in 2011, Connecticut ranked first in 2012, and Maine ranked first in the first half of 2013.

Among cities, Chicago had the largest number of questionable claims in 2011, and Los Angeles took the top spot in 2012 and in the first half of 2013, the report said.

Among the most common workers' compensation fraud cases are workers faking or exaggerating injuries, or filing for injuries that did not take place at work, the report said.

This is a classic case of good news-bad news. At a time when the market is hardening, rates continue to rise, and payrolls are going up, decreasing number of workers compensation claims could spell some relief for employers. The bad news is that fraudulent workers comp claims can be a real detriment to your premium costs. Fortunately for employers, workers compensation premium recovery offers a way to recover overcharges and receive refunds on current and prior years' policies. It takes an employer 5 minutes to sign up, and refunds and credits will follow a few months thereafter. The contingency fee means that this service will cost nothing unless the employer receives a check, credit, or reduced premium in hand!