Around AASCIF

Colorado

• In a recent policyholder survey, Pinnacol’s overall service quality was rated 8.7out of 10 points, slightly lower than our 2006 score of 8.8, but not statistically significant. The survey measured policyholder satisfaction during 2007 in nine key areas: overall service quality, underwriting, claim handling, SelectNet (our medical provider network), loss prevention, telephone customer service, billing, Internet services, and values performance. Survey respondents also gave Pinnacol a 9.3 rating on the likelihood of renewing their policies.
• To help reduce anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries for ski industry employees, Pinnacol has developed a comprehensive injury prevention kit for policyholder that includes a 14-minute video, posters, and a step-by-step training guide. The kit’s contents were developed with the input of ski area leaders who provided detailed information about the types of materials and training techniques that are most appropriate for their employees. In September 2007, the kits were distributed to all the ski areas that Pinnacol covers, and a tracking program is in place to measure the results.
• Pinnacol’s recently published 2007 Community Involvement Report highlights the impact we’ve had on others’ lives through our three community programs: Pinnacol in Action, Pinnacol Foundation, and Employee Giving. To help demonstrate this, the report profiles five children of injured workers. Each is a Pinnacol Foundation college scholarship recipient. In 2007, 73 percent of Pinnacol employees volunteered 4,587 hours to local organizations. In addition, the Pinnacol Foundation awarded $179,500 in college scholarships to 59 children of injured workers. For a copy of this report, please contact Ivan Hurtado at 303-361-4774.
• Pinnacol’s new Claims Management CD-ROM shows policyholders how to work with us to more effectively manage their claims costs and keep workers’ compensation premiums down. It’s loaded with information on what to do both before and after an injury occurs, such as setting up loss prevention and safety programs, implementing drug-screen policies, and designating medical providers. If you would like a copy of our Claims Management CD-ROM, call Pinnacol’s customer service team at 303-361-4000 or 1-800-873-7242 or visit www.pinnacol.com/employers.
  

Kentucky

KEMI to Host Mine Safety Event
Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance (KEMI), the Mine Safety & Health Administration and the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing are proud to present the first-ever Eastern Kentucky Mine Safety & Training Competition in Pikeville, Kentucky on August 13-14, 2008.

The event will feature Mine Rescue, Pre-Shift, Bench and Mine Emergency Technician (MET) contests and is completely FREE for all coal companies to register and participate in. To learn more about this exciting event, visit www.kemi.com/minesafety.

KEMI Employees Focus Charitable Efforts on Ronald McDonald House
When it comes to charitable giving, the employees at KEMI have rallied together in support of the Ronald McDonald House of the Bluegrass, an organization that offers a home away from home for children and their families who come to Lexington for medical treatment. Whether it’s providing and preparing a meal for the dozens of guests staying in the House to renovating an entire family room area with brand new furniture and decorations, KEMI employees have been more than generous with both their time and money in helping the House feel more like a home to those facing difficult medical situations.

Recently, a regional business publication featured an article on KEMI’s contributions at the House. For the full story, visit: https://www.kemi.com/News/RMH-KEMI.aspx

Louisiana

Voelker Joins LWCC Board of Directors
New Orleans investment company owner David R. Voelker has been named to the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation (LWCC) Board of Directors. He is an owner of Frantzen, Voelker and Conway Investments, LLC and serves on the boards of several prominent Louisiana businesses.

Voelker is chairman of the board and managing member of Summit Holding LLC, a Lafayette-based oil and gas exploration and development company, and managing member of Providence Realty Partners, a Dallas-based real estate development company focused in Texas and Louisiana.

In addition, Voelker serves on the boards of Stone Energy Corporation in Lafayette, a publicly traded oil and gas production and development company; Prescient Technologies LLC in New Orleans, a professional engineering and scientific company; Overmarine LLC in New Orleans, the leader of worldwide ocean transport for heavy lift and project cargoes; and other companies.

Among his many civic endeavors, Voelker has been a board member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the Greater New Orleans Foundation, Touro Infirmary, and others. He is past chairman of the board for both the National World War II Museum and WYES Television, both in New Orleans.

Nesmith, Page Named to LWCC Posts
LWCC has promoted Sally Nesmith to director of production operations and hired Michael Page as director of safety and loss prevention.

Nesmith joined LWCC in 2003 as business unit manager of the company’s small accounts underwriting team. She has been a Certified Insurance Counselor since 1992 and a licensed Louisiana Casualty Agent since 1988. She received her B.S. degree in accounting from Davenport University.

Page was previously director of loss prevention services for Workforce Safety and Insurance in North Dakota. He earned a B.S degree in occupational safety and health from Murray State University and holds the Certified Safety Professional designation.

Maine

MEMIC Introduces New Credit for Loyal Customers
MEMIC recently introduced a plan to reward loyal customers in ways beyond their annual dividend. At the beginning of 2008, MEMIC rolled out the “Continuity Credit,” a discount of up to five percent of the total annual premium for customers who have been with MEMIC for six or more consecutive years. Customers must have an experience modification of 1.05 or less. MEMIC’s underwriters believe that customers who have been policyholders for this length of time understand and practice the safety standards set forth by MEMIC. These customers prove to be worthy of a modest credit.

MEMIC Brands New EPLI Product
MEMIC Edge with EPLI, the company’s newest offering, was offered to new business as an endorsement to workers’ comp policies on January 1, 2008. Renewal business will have the option beginning April 1, 2008.
The standard MEMIC Edge EPLI plan offers policyholders legal defense, a web resource filled with information and expert advice, as well as a standard $5,000 deductible and $100,000 limit with no minimum premium charge. Customers pay a low per-employee rate for the coverage.
Additional plan options are available such as third party protection, lower limits and higher deductibles. MEMIC introduced its plan to offer employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) in November 2007. The company feels this insurance pairs well with workers’ comp because employers who care about the health, wellness, and safety of their employees will also observe good employment practices, which will lead to safer workplaces.

MEMIC President and CEO named ACORD chair and awarded AMCOMP "Legends" award
MEMIC President and CEO John Leonard has been elected as ACORD’s 2008 Chairman. This is Leonard’s second stint as Chairman for this international standard-setting organization.
In late February, Leonard received the Legends Award from the professional society AMCOMP. The Legends award is given to industry professionals who have gained their knowledge through life experience and have shown a commitment to the workers' comp system by contributions of time and effort and by fostering the efficiency of the system outside his or her workplace. Recipients must exhibit leadership qualities by heading committees and work groups and have contributed to the development of some aspect of the workers' comp environment.

Maryland

• Results of the annual IWIF Customer Service Satisfaction Survey reveal 91 percent of Maryland’s largest 125 agents/brokers are satisfied with IWIF, two percentage points higher than the previous year’s study. Similarly, 87 percent of policyholders are satisfied with IWIF, an increase of three percentage points from the previous year. IWIF uses an independent market research firm to conduct its annual survey.
• IWIF has agreed to join the University of Maryland School of Medicine in a three-year study designed to prevent and minimize back injuries received by workers in the lifting of frail and elderly patients of long-term care facilities. Loss Control Director Joe Gillian says that, as Maryland’s largest insurer of workers’ compensation, IWIF was invited to be a partner in the project by the school’s Occupational Health Program. The purpose of this project is to help reduce the primary cause of injury, disability and lost workdays for long-term caregivers.
• IWIF employees donated $42,276 to the Maryland Charity Campaign during the State’s 2007 fundraiser. In addition, IWIF matched the amount, bringing the total contribution to $84,553, about $1,800 more than the previous year. While IWIF and its employees perform many charitable acts throughout the community, the Maryland Charity Campaign is the biggest, collective charitable event supported by the organization.
  

Montana

Work Hard, Be Safe in 2008
Montana State Fund’s new “Work Hard. Be Safe.” media campaign "kicked off" with a television ad which aired on Super Bowl Sunday.
The goal of the campaign is to encourage employers and managers across all industries in the state to promote safety in the workplace. The ads show a number of real life Montanans performing their jobs. The narration emphasizes our respect for the Montana worker and how we want them to enjoy their work, but at the same time, perform it safely.
The multi-media campaign not only utilizes TV, but also employs a number of components which include: movie theater ads, public radio underwriting; print ads in the state’s major newspapers, rural newspapers, and trade and business publications; and banner ads on the major newspaper sites.

60 Summits Program
Montana is among the states and provinces that are initiating the 60 Summits program. Founded by Dr. Jennifer Christians, 60 Summits is the beginning of an international effort. It’s a sensible program that changes the way people think about Stay-At-Work and Return-To-Work, and how those affect both the injured worker and the employer. The stake-holder groups involved in the sessions include medical providers, insurers, labor, management and governmental agencies. MSF’s effort is in cooperation with the Montana Department of Labor, the Montanan Chamber of Commerce and many other business groups and associations. There are three sessions planned in the cities of Billings, Great Falls and Helena in late April.

Palmer Retires
Blaine Palmer, Director of Agency Relations and Market Development for MSF recently retired. Palmer served as President of the American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds (AASCIF), President and CEO of Workers Compensation Fund of Utah, Executive VP & COO of Louisiana Workers Compensation Corporation, Executive VP and COO of Missouri Employers Mutual, Senior VP and CAO of Employers Insurance Company of Nevada, and VP of Client Relations for ISO.



New York

• New York State laws of 2008 make a number of changes affecting ratemaking for workers’ compensation, replacing the current administered rate system with a loss cost system. Under the old system, a licensed rating service organization (RSO) filed complete rates with the Insurance Department (which it could accept or reject) based on a projection of losses for the coming year and expense factors for the entire industry. In a loss cost system, the RSO will only file the portion of the rates related to losses. Each individual insurer must apply its own expense factor (“loss cost multiplier”) to the applicable loss cost to determine the complete rate.
• NYSIF topped its previous one-year total in fraud arrests (148 set in 2006) with 158 arrests in 2007, representing fraud, restitution and estimated future savings of more than $17,428,000. It also tallied more than 1,000 arrests since 1996. During that time, cumulative fraud halted by NYSIF investigations, along with restitution and estimated future savings, has totaled more than $140 million. In keeping with New York workers’ compensation reform of 2007, NYSIF focused particular attention on policyholders who under report payroll or misclassify workers to avoid paying proper premium.
• NYSIF announced an expansion of its online safety services, providing safety posters in Spanish for the first time. CEO/Executive Director David P. Wehner said NYSIF is responding to the ever-increasing percentage of Spanish speaking people in the New York workforce. "At NYSIF, we believe we have a responsibility to assist our policyholders in accident prevention and providing a safe workplace for those who speak limited or no English,” he said.
  

Ohio

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Administrator Marsha Ryan has selected Raymond R. Mazzotta as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the agency. Mazzotta possesses more than 30 years experience in the insurance industry, serving in senior leadership positions for the past 25 years. Mazzotta most recently served as president and CEO of OHIC Insurance Company, located in Columbus. There he successfully crafted the direction of the operation, resulting in a record surplus and continually increasing net income. At BWC, he will oversee the agency’s Fiscal and Planning Division, Customer Services Division, Medical Services Division and the Infrastructure and Technology Division. Mazzotta began his duties at BWC on February 4.

The strategic focus for BWC going forward includes the transition to a new reserving system, Micro Insurance Reserving Analysis (MIRA) II, a Fair Isaac product. MIRA II will provide BWC with a more accurate method of setting individual claims reserves for each employer. This will set rates more equitably, according to an employer’s particular experience. The new system will also allow employers to better understand and view the factors that influence their particular reserve estimations, providing greater transparency for the customer. The transition to MIRA II is scheduled to begin this June and be fully implemented by January, 2009.

Oklahoma

Happy 75th Birthday CompSource Oklahoma
There’s reason to celebrate in 2008 as CompSource Oklahoma commemorates 75 years of service to Oklahoma businesses. On Monday, April 7 CompSource Oklahoma will celebrate its 75th birthday by hosting an education fair for policyholders, agents and legislators. During the education fair departments will host exhibit booths and provide education materials on topics such as online payroll reporting, premium audits, fraud and workplace safety. To coincide with the anniversary, CompSource will be launching a media awareness campaign focusing on workplace safety and workers’ compensation education. The campaign will run April through December.

 

Ontario

A strategic approach to prevention
The Road to Zero: A Five Year Strategic Plan (1.3 mb, pdf) is the WSIB's roadmap to the elimination of workplace injuries, illnesses, and
fatalities in Ontario. The plan includes aggressive targets to reduce workplace
injuries, enhance programs and services, and ensure the financial sustainability of the system. It also calls for the implementation of a system-wide prevention strategy. The WSIB's Prevention Strategy for Workplace Health and Safety in Ontario (1mb, pdf) was released early in 2008 to address the challenges posed by growing numbers of new, immigrant, and younger workers, an aging workforce and an increase in small, geographically diverse businesses.

The prevention strategy adopts a marketing approach designed to transform mainstream attitudes toward workplace safety. “We’ve seen this kind of change in relation to seatbelts, smoking, and the environment,” says Chief Prevention Officer Tom Beegan. “Our goal is to make excellence in workplace health and safety a national habit.”

New service delivery model
As part of our renewed commitment to the elimination of all workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses in Ontario, the WSIB has developed a new model for frontline service delivery.

The new model adopts a more coordinated and aligned case management approach that will focus on the delivery of prevention, health care, and return to work services, and on achieving optimal results for Ontario workplaces. It includes newly defined roles and processes to support integrated case management across a range of programs and services.

“The services we provide to the workers and employers of Ontario are at the heart of everything we do at the WSIB,” says WSIB President and CEO Jill Hutcheon. “This new service delivery model will make a measurable difference to our clients and help propel Ontario on the road to zero injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.”

The new model will be phased in, with the most significant changes rolling out in the 4th quarter of 2008.



Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania State Workers’ Insurance Fund is partnering with Medrisk, a Workers’ Compensation managed care specialist, to control costs associated with providing medical services to SWIF claimants.

The goal is to leverage maximum purchasing volumes in providing quality medical treatment at levels below the PA fee schedule whenever possible.

By increasing the use of Panel Providers, utilizing Preferred Provider organizations and by seeking off panel, out of system discounts for services, SWIF and Medrisk are committed to:

• Providing SWIF policyholders/claimants with access to quality care that produce optimal outcomes; and
• Providing SWIF with reduced benefit costs without negatively impacting operational processes and procedures.

Medrisk will be responsible for panel and network development, program marketing and educating SWIF’s policyholders on the benefits of utilization. In addition, Medrisk will implement a comprehensive medical bill processing program that will assist SWIF in reviewing and paying bills submitted for medical services provided to claimants of SWIF.

The program is scheduled to begin late 2nd quarter of 2008.

Saskatchewan

By just about any measure, 2007 was a hallmark year for the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB). The injury rate continued its steady decline, average claim durations dropped by more than a day, and performance measures of Return to Work remained strong. Progress on the WCB’s Human Resource strategy earned the organization several important employer designations and 2007’s investment markets suggest strong financial performance.

• The Time Loss Injury rate dropped to 3.80 per cent in 2007, bettering the target of 3.85 per cent in the WCB’s strategic plan. Since reaching a 20-year record high of 4.95 per cent in 2002, the rate has dropped 23.2 per cent – with a 6.2 per cent decline in 2007 alone.
• Average duration of all Time Loss claims in the system fell from 33.5 days in 2006 to 32.1 days in 2007. This marks the sixth consecutive year of decline; the average duration has dropped 10.2 days – or 24.1 per cent – since 2001.
• Return to work, which measures the percentage of injured workers with Time Loss claims who return to work, stayed steady at 92 per cent.
• The WCB’s integrated Human Resources strategy focuses on the recruitment, development and retention of its staff, and helped the organization reach a staff competency level of 98 per cent last year. This exceeded the target of 90 per cent in the WCB’s strategic plan.
• The WCB received a Youth Friendly Workplace designation in 2007 and was identified as a Top 10 employer in Saskatchewan for 2008.

The WCB’s financial performance will be public when its 2007 Annual Report is tabled in the Spring. Strong investment market returns and higher than anticipated payrolls suggest that year-end financial results will be significantly better than original projections.

Texas

Electronic billing goes live
Texas Mutual launched its electronic billing (eBilling) system for health care providers on January 1. Texas is the first state to require electronic billing for workers’ compensation, but other states are expected to follow suit.

Texas Mutual partnered with Jopari Solutions to create its eBilling system. Under the agreement, Jopari serves as a gateway between providers and Texas Mutual Insurance Company for electronic remittance advice, as well as submission of electronic bills and attachments.

For more information, visit the Health Care Provider section at www.texasmutual.com.

Texas Mutual wraps up record year
Texas Mutual Insurance Company wrote a company-record $760.5 million in premium and paid a record $138 million in policyholder dividends last year.

Other highlights from the company’s 2007 annual report, available in the News & Publications section at www.texasmutual.com, include:
· Issued $70.9 million in network discounts
· Identified more than $8 million in fraud
· Granted $45,268 in college scholarships
· Launched a multimedia safety education campaign

Network increases service area
Texas Mutual Insurance Company expanded the service area of its workers’ compensation health care network. The network is now available to approximately
99 percent of the company’s eligible policyholders.

Policyholders who choose the network option benefit from occupational health care services designed to control claim costs. Most also receive a 12 percent annual network premium discount.

For more information, visit the Health Care Network section at www.texasmutual.com.