California’s insurance commissioner has approved a 3.4% reduction in the average workers’ compensation benchmark rate as of Sept. 1, 2021. Ricardo Lara decided to order a rate decrease despite the fact that the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, the state’s rate-making agency, had recommended that the average benchmark rate be increased 2.7%. The 3.4% reduction…
There are signs that the Internal Revenue Service is starting to step up its enforcement of the Affordable Care Act employer mandate. During the past six months, there’s been an uptick in the number of employers receiving initial notices stating they may be out of compliance with the requirement that they offer their workers coverage. …
As many parts of the country are wrestling with ever-increasing temperatures during the summer months, a new study has found that the hotter the weather gets, the higher the risk of workplace accidents and injuries for both indoor and outside workers. The study by the University of California, Los Angeles, based on claims data from…
The cost of buying and installing home building supplies is going through the roof, and it may leave you without enough insurance to rebuild should disaster strike. Lumber and other construction material prices have skyrocketed, and so has the cost of labor as the building industry struggles with a manpower shortfall. These issues are adding…
The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has announced that two temporary payroll reporting rules to reflect changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home orders will sunset. The move comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s June 9 executive order which revoked the statewide stay-at-home order that had been in place since March 19, 2020. You may…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service just released a series of new regulations targeted at banning surprise billing in most instances, taking aim at a scourge that ends up costing many covered individuals thousands of dollars even when they are treated in-network. The goal of the rule, slated to take effect Jan. 1, 2022,…
If a natural disaster were to strike, would your company be ready? Has your management team hardened the business to continue operating in case of a disaster? With natural catastrophes growing in number and severity, businesses more than ever need to have in place plans for a quick recovery for the sake of their investors,…
The last five years have seen the rise of new and unforeseen risks, like the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid increase of natural catastrophes and supply chain upheavals of unprecedented proportions. In today’s business climate, the key to success and survival will be your ability to navigate during times of uncertainty and new challenges that can…
More businesses are finding fewer insurers willing to write their policies for certain types of coverage that are seeing rapidly escalating claims costs, particularly in some liability lines as well as property insurance in areas with exposure to natural catastrophes. When no insurers that are licensed in your state are willing to write a policy,…
Last week, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board finally approved changes to the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard that greatly loosen workplace restrictions that were implemented last year to protect California workers. The biggest news in the changes is that workers who have been fully vaccinated will no longer be required to wear face masks as protection, regardless…