Industry News
Author, Alyssa Burley, Media Communications and Client Services Manager, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. would like to remind its clients that February 1, 2022 marks the start of the OSHA Form 300A Summary posting period. The OSHA Form 300A is a summary of the company's annual work-related injuries and illnesses. It must be posted from February 1, 2022 to April 30, 2022.
Author, Dave Garcia, President, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
As a business owner preparing for 2022, what areas of insurable risk should cause you the biggest concerns? During the 2021 year, we experienced a hardening insurance market. All lines of insurance were negatively impacted as a result of the catastrophic events we experienced such as wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, and the emergence of COVID-19. Large national and worldwide crises like these caused underwriting losses in the billions of dollars to both front line insurers and reinsurers.
Author, Casey Craig, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Following up on a great article by fellow construction team member Kevin Howard, about anticipated wage threshold increases coming in 2022, I wanted to highlight the building problems resulting from substantial hourly wage increases.
Author, Jack Marrs, Associate Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Leading into 2022, it is important for employers to examine their workplace injury reporting practices. Specifically, employers should report all injuries including medical-only workplace injuries to their workers’ compensation insurance company. Best practices dictate all claims should be reported within the first 24 hours in order to improve treatment to the injured worker and reduce the overall cost of the claim to the employer.
Author, Alyssa Burley, Media Communications and Client Services Manager, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
On Thursday, December 16, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board voted in favor, 6 to 1, of adopting the revised COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). This is the third iteration of the ETS since it originally went into effect in November 2020 and it happens to be the second and final re-adoption that’s allowed.
Author, Kevin Howard, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
There are 16 construction workers’ compensation class code pairs in California, each set up as dual wage classifications. The purpose of these “split” class codes allows the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) and California insurers to better predict future risk and underwrite with more accuracy.
Author, Amber Webb, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
If you are an MEP contractor who wants to impact both your productivity and profitably, then the following is crucial for your success. Our MEP Group at Rancho Mesa understands the importance of identifying the top five workers’ compensation claims that impact your industry while providing pertinent resources to help mitigate that risk.
Author, Greg Garcia, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Workers’ compensation premiums typically represent one of the largest overhead expenses for landscape companies. Premium costs are driven by the number and severity of claims a company has had over a five-year period. Thus, fewer claims often equate to a lower premium paid for workers’ compensation insurance.
Author, Casey Craig, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
The Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) is an agency that compiles essential data annually which determines how your Experience MOD is impacted.. These factors establish the baseline average MOD of 1.00 for California companies that produce enough payroll and premium to qualify within the guidelines. These factors can change year to year and represent a key rate trend indicator for all policyholders.
Author, Sam Clayton, Vice President, Construction Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Workers’ compensation rates have fallen steadily over the last ten years, but businesses in California still pay the highest rates in the country. In addition, California has the highest frequency of permanent disability clams, the highest medical cost per claim and the highest litigation rates per claim.
Author, Dave Garcia, President, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
In the past, we explored performance-based workers’ compensation programs. These plans can create a competitive advantage and an opportunity to monetize your company’s insurance program.
Author, Rory Anderson, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Because stump grinding is done from the ground, it can create some confusion for tree care companies on how to properly classify this exposure for workers’ compensation insurance. It’s important to understand how and where to classify this exposure, so you’re not setting yourself up for an issue at the audit. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau defines all class codes to help companies classify specific operations. Let’s look at how they define 0106 Tree Pruning, Repairing or Trimming.
Author, Sam Clayton, Vice President, Construction Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Changes by the WICRB typically take place at the first of every year and can impact workers’ compensation Pure Premium Rates, Expected Loss Rates (ELR) and Wage Thresholds. However, the WCIRB has amended its filing schedule in 2021 to take effect September 1st.
Author, Dave Garcia, President, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Many years ago, when I was a young producer, one workers’ compensation carrier legend pulled me aside and told me never to forget that a workers’ compensation decision is not a one-year decision, but at least a 4-year decision. Of course, policies are only written on a one-year basis but what he was teaching me was that the carrier you choose will handle all the claims you have through your Experience Modification cycle. So, evaluating and recommending a workers’ compensation partner for my clients just became a much more thorough analysis of many critical factors beyond just the premium.
Author, Rory Anderson, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
In California, each workers’ compensation insurance company has its own set of base rates for each class of business. In order to come up with their base rate for each class code, the insurance carrier applies their Loss Cost Multiplier (LCM) to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s (WCIRB) pure premium rates.
Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. would like to remind its clients that February 1, 2019 marks the start of the Cal/OSHA Form 300A posting period. The Cal/OSHA Form 300A is a summary of the company's annual work-related injuries and illnesses. It must be posted from February 1, 2019 to April 30, 2019.
Author, Drew Garcia, Vice President, Landscape Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
How do you differentiate your company from your local competitors? Product, customer service, delivery, etc. The same can be said for your risk profile and insurance costs. Why are my insurance rates high when my competitors are low? This article breaks down four factors that influence your risk profile and impact pricing.
Author, Rory Anderson, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
The total cost of risk is the sum of the measurable expenses that are associated with managing risk within any organization. Every successful business has a process for tracking and measuring performance to improve results. It is important for business owners to keep a pulse on key performance indicators. But, how are you measuring risk related costs? Some people may think that insurance premiums are the only cost associated with risk, but we need to look at the bigger picture.
Author, Dave Garcia, President, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
As we come to the end of 2020, the most challenging year most of us have ever experienced, where COVID-19, wild fires and other natural disasters took their toll emotionally, physically, mentally and financially on all of us we can only hope for a brighter 2021.
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