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Kentucky
Participation
Doubles for KEMI Mine Safety & Training Competition
Over 400 competitors from six states traveled to Pikeville, Ky. on July 14-16,
2009, to compete in the KEMI Mine Safety & Training Competition. The event
featured two days of mine-rescue team competition and training, as well as a
third day of events which included Pre-Shift, Bench and First-Aid skills. The
event was free to any coal company who registered to participate. Teams from
Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Alabama, Indiana and Illinois attended.
The
Mine Safety and Health Administration and the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety
and Licensing provided nearly 200 judges from Kentucky and surrounding states
to score the three-day competition.
KEMI
Selected as Finalist for Workplace Flexibility Award
KEMI has been selected as a finalist for the 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Awards for
Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. This prestigious award
recognizes employers across the country that are successfully using
flexibility to meet both business and employee needs.
Louisiana
A.M.
Best Reaffirms LWCC's "A" (Excellent) Rating
Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation’s “A” (Excellent) rating
by A.M Best Company has been reaffirmed for 2009.
A.M. Best is the leading provider of ratings, news, and financial data for the
insurance industry worldwide. The “A” (Excellent) rating is assigned to
companies that have excellent financial strength and operating performance, as
well as favorable market position when compared to industry standards that
A.M. Best has established.
Best’s ratings represent
an objective quantitative and qualitative evaluation of an insurer’s ability
to meet ongoing obligations to its policyholders.
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2008
Stephen W. Cavanaugh Scholarship Recipient Named
Kevin Paul Hale of Baton Rouge, La., has been selected as the 2008 recipient
of the Stephen W. Cavanaugh Scholarship. A student at Louisiana State
University Honors College majoring in mathematics with a concentration in
actuarial sciences, Hale is receiving the $8,000 scholarship over a four-year
period.
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Louisiana Workers’
Compensation Corporation (LWCC) established the Stephen W. Cavanaugh
Scholarship Fund in 2006 in honor of Cavanaugh’s leadership and lasting
contributions to the insurance industry in Louisiana. He was LWCC’s chief
executive officer from the company’s inception in 1992 until his resignation
in 2006. Cavanaugh was diagnosed in September 2006 with Stage IV pancreatic
cancer and died Nov. 15, 2006, at age 55.
The scholarship fund, administered by the
Baton Rouge Area Foundation, provides financial assistance to deserving
Louisiana students who are majoring in an insurance-related field at a
Louisiana university, college, or community college.
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Maine
McGarvey Hired as MEMIC Senior Vice President of
Finance
Daniel J. McGarvey, a 17-year insurance industry veteran, has been appointed
as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Finance of The MEMIC
group. McGarvey joined the company in March.
McGarvey replaces Bob McMann, who retired in June.
Since 1995, McGarvey worked for Associated Industries
Insurance Services, Inc., a workers' compensation insurer based in Florida,
becoming executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. In
that role he helped lead the company's acquisition by AmTrust Financial
Services, a multinational property and casualty insurer, based in
New York. Prior to that, he served as vice president, treasurer and controller
for another Florida
insurer.
McGarvey is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and is a
member of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) Society. He is a
graduate of
Minnesota
State
University.
MEMIC Indemnity Earns an A
In May, MEMIC announced that subsidiary MEMIC Indemnity
Company earned an upgrade in its financial strength rating from A- to A
(Excellent) from respected insurance industry reviewer A.M. Best.
According to Best, the company earned the upgrade due to
its strong capitalization, improved operating results as well as its strategic
importance to, and support from, its parent company. The rating agency also
affirmed the A rating of parent company Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance
Company and the MEMIC Group.
The MEMIC Indemnity division is now licensed in 45 states
plus the
District of Columbia. The company is actively marketing in
New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island,
Connecticut
and New York.
MEMIC and EPLI—A Winning Match
A year after being introduced to customers in
Maine, MEMIC Edge with EPLI has surpassed 7,000 policies sold. MEMIC Edge with EPLI adds the component of Employment Practices Liability
Insurance (EPLI) coverage as an endorsement to the workers’ compensation
policy. This allows customers to buy coverage for employment practice lawsuits
such as discrimination, wrongful termination and sexual harassment, directly
through their workers’ compensation policy. This may be the first time EPLI
has been paired with workers’ compensation.
2008 Annual Report Released
MEMIC's 2008 Annual Report has been released in a more
‘green’ format. Policyholders and fans alike can go to www.memicannualreport.com
to view this year’s edition. The online report offers video clips from a MEMIC
policyholder, highlighting areas important to having a safe work place.
Maryland
IWIF launched in June Workplace Safety Month in Maryland, a public outreach
campaign to promote the importance of on-the-job safety for a particular
segment of the working population. This year, the campaign focused on women
and educated policyholders, agents and brokers, and Maryland business owners
and their employees about workplace hazards facing women. While there is a
great deal of injury prevention information and resources for male-dominated
industries like construction, not as many resources exist for women. IWIF
chose to focus on women safety issues because nearly 9,000 women in Maryland
suffered on-the-job accidents that required time away from work last year.
IWIF’s claims data revealed 35 percent of private sector claims and 53
percent of State claims were filed by female workers in 2008. The safety
campaign includes television and radio public service announcements, a free
employer resource kit, Web advertising, newsletter articles, safety tip
sheets, a safety poster, and a Governor’s Proclamation deeming June
workplace safety month for women in Maryland. Also, women worker safety was a
highlight of a workplace safety symposium sponsored by IWIF and the Chesapeake
Region Safety Council.
IWIF and employees donated more than $75,000 to the Maryland Charity
Campaign, the state-sponsored fundraising initiative for local and national
charities.
The following executives were recently promoted or have new corporate
responsibilities:
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IWIF promotes Joan Adelman, Esq., to Director
of Legal Services. She was previously a Senior Attorney. |
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IWIF promotes Carmine D'Alessdndro, Esq., to
Assistant Vice President of Claims. He was previously Director of
Legal Services. |
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New corporate responsibilities: IWIF names
Rona Finkelstein, Esq., as Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Vice
President of Legal Services. Previously, she was SVP of Human Resources
and Legal Services. |
Missouri
MEM President and CEO Announces Retirement
Missouri Employers Mutual's Dennis Smith recently announced
his intent to retire from the President and CEO position. Former Missouri
Governor Roger Wilson is now Acting President and CEO, and Smith is serving as
CEO Emeritus. In this role, Smith maintains his involvement in external
activities, such as his role as president of AASCIF and chairman of Missouri's
Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Authority. Smith was MEM's first
employee, serving as President and CEO since 1994.
Montana
Medical Conference
Pain Management is the topic for MSF's ninth annual
medical conference slated for Nov. 13, 2009. These medical
conferences are a gathering for medical providers, claims’ examiners and
workers’ compensation professional to further their knowledge about relevant
medical topics that affect many of our injured employees.
New Appointment
Rick Duane has been appointed the new Vice President of Human
Resources. Rick has over 17 years of experience in the field of human
resources. He was most recently the Director of Human Resources at the Detroit
Zoological Society.
Gap Between Employer and Worker
In some focus group research, Montana State Fund has found that in Montana
there is a major gap between the employer and a young worker. The boss
hands a young worker the company safety plan, tells him to read it and then
sign. All the worker hears is, “I need to sign this.” The
communication necessary to actually understand and implement the safety
practices is, for the most part, totally missing. MSF will be using this
research in our summer/early fall campaigns to help rectify the problem and
reduce the injury rate for our young workers.
New York
NYSIF Board of Commissioners announced the appointment of James J. Wrynn as
executive director, effective Apr. 22, 2009.
A partner in the law firm of MacKay, Wrynn & Brady, LLP, Wrynn has
extensive legal experience in counseling agents, brokers, risk retention
groups and insurance companies in most lines of insurance and excess
insurance, reinsurance, self-insurance and captive insurance. His law
firm specializes in the areas of civil litigation and appellate practice with
an emphasis on insurance law.
He is admitted to the federal and state courts in
New York
and New Jersey
and the Supreme Court of the United States, and has designations as an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Associate
in Captive Insurance (ACI).
He has litigated hundreds of cases as a trial attorney in the areas of life
insurance, accident and health, property and casualty, general liability,
insurance coverage disputes, professional malpractice and product liability.
Wrynn previously served as a board member of the New York City Economic
Development Corporation and the New York City Business Relocation Assistance
Corporation. He is a past-president of the Brehon Law Society and is a board
member of the
St. John’s
University School of Law Alumni Association and the Catholic Lawyers Guild –
Queens
County.
A life-long resident of Queens, NY, he is a graduate of Holy Cross High
School, St. John's University College of Business Administration and St.
John's University School of Law.
Oklahoma
CompSource Oklahoma’s
Board Names New President
CompSource Oklahoma’s board of managers has appointed Jason Clark as the
company’s president and chief executive officer. Clark has been serving in
an interim capacity since March with the resignation of CompSource’s
previous president, Terry McCullar.
“I appreciate the vote of confidence by our board of
managers. I believe in our business model, I know Oklahoma, and I know that
CompSource is good for Oklahoma. I look forward to continuing to improve our
service to our policyholders, their employees and ensuring we do what is best
for the citizens of Oklahoma,” said Clark.
2009 Legislation
Two bills were passed during the 2009 Oklahoma Legislative session
specific to CompSource:
HB 1755 creates a three-year pilot program to capture
cost savings and improve services, by exempting CompSource from certain
statutory procurement provisions. CompSource will provide an annual
report to the legislature covering the following:
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The methods and innovations utilized in its
procurement processes, and
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The improved services accrued as a result of the
program.
HB 1963 creates a Task Force to study the privatization
of CompSource. CompSource will have a representative on the Task Force, and
the rest of the appointees will be named in early July.
As with similar bills from the past, this bill does not
privatize CompSource, it only creates a task force to study the issues and
make recommendations related to privatizing the organization.
Oregon
Hitting the road for SAIF's birthday
Concurrent with Oregon's sesquicentennial, SAIF is celebrating its own
95th birthday in early July with festivities at its nine offices around the
state. Beginning at SAIF's corporate headquarters in Salem, CEO Brenda
Rocklin and several of the company's executive managers embarked upon a road
trip to visit the offices as well as policyholders throughout the state.
Coming in 2010: Safety in Motion®
In early 2010 SAIF will roll out Safety in Motion® ("SIM4"), a
Web-supported training system, to SAIF policyholders. Conducted by SAIF loss
control staff, SIM4 training provides workers with practical education in
reducing the risk of strain and sprain both on and off the job. These injuries
make up the largest portion of workers' compensation claims costs covered by
SAIF.
Each SIM4 training module focuses on one key technique
and can be delivered in less than 30 minutes.
Going green to save $100,00 for SAIF
In support of Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski's goal to reduce the state's
carbon footprint, SAIF is making changes that will end up saving the company
more than $100,000 per year. By making injury reports accessible to customers
on the Internet and discontinuing the paper version, SAIF projects an annual
savings of $54,050 in paper and related costs, and $53,000 in postage.
In addition, SAIF has initiated a campaign to reduce
night-time power consumption from unused electronic devices and has
implemented new incentives for carpooling and using public transit to commute.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s State Workers’ Insurance Fund (SWIF), an assured source of workers’
compensation insurance for the employers and workers of Pennsylvania
and one of the largest workers’ comp insurers in the State, has selected
MedRisk, Inc. to integrate multiple managed care solutions in order to provide
the Fund with a streamlined medical management program.
The SWIF/MedRisk partnership integrates “Preferred
Provider Organization” (PPO) services, ongoing panel development, pharmacy
benefits, durable medical equipment, diagnostic imaging and MedRisk’s
specialty management services for physical medicine. MedRisk will use
its proprietary claims and document management technologies to support the
integration of strategic medical management services for a unified,
best-in-class program.
The goal is to provide injured workers with prompt access
to a quality workers’ compensation PPO program, utilizing panels of
credentialed medical professionals committed to goal oriented treatment plans
and effective return to work practices while controlling workers’
compensation costs for SWIF’s policyholders.
The program kicked-off in April 2009 with the first of eight statewide policyholder
seminars. Full implementation is scheduled for the second quarter of 2010.
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Saskatchewan
Stella the Safety Skunk introduced
"Getting hurt really stinks!" That's the message approximately
800 Regina preschoolers heard May 27 at Stella the Safety Skunk's
official launch. WorkSafe Bob was on hand to introduce Stella as she
emerged from a white tent to a crowd of tiny, wide-eyed fans. |
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"Saskatchewan has the second highest incidence of
workplace injury in Canada," said Stella's handler, WCB Youth Coordinator
Tim Kalynchuk. "We're trying to turn that around through the Mission:
Zero initiative, but it might take a generation. With Stella, we can reach
kids from kindergarten to grade four, and instill that safety message.
Injuries don't have to be an inevitable part of life."
After a hug or a high-5 from Stella, the children sat on the
grass munching Stella cookies. At the end of the day, the children took the
safety message home in their new Stella safety tip coloring books.
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Texas
Ron Wright appointed
president/CEO
Ron Wright, chief operating officer of Texas Mutual since 1997, will
become the company’s president and CEO on
Sept. 1, 2009. Wright will succeed Russell R. Oliver, who announced his retirement in
February.
Texas
Mutual to pay $75 Million policyholder dividend
This summer, Texas Mutual will distribute $75 million in dividends among
approximately 77 percent of its policyholders. The company has distributed
more than $670 million in individual policyholder dividends since 1999. It has
distributed another $56 million to its purchasing groups.
Safety tools target oil and
gas industry
Texas Mutual has posted free safety resources for the oil and gas industry
at texasmutual.com/safety/rtmain.shtm. The resources are products of the
company’s oil and gas safety roundtable, which includes representatives from
OSHA, the Texas Oil & Gas Association, the Texas Department of Insurance
and Texas employers.
Texas
Mutual launches teen worker safety campaign
This spring, Texas Mutual launched a teen worker safety pilot campaign in
the
Lubbock, Texas
area. The One Wrong Move campaign featured a Web site (onewrongmove.org),
billboards, brochures, radio spots and mall advertising. The company will
evaluate the results this fall and consider expanding the campaign to other
mid-sized markets in the future.
Board welcomes new members
Texas Mutual policyholders elected two new members to the board of
directors during the company's annual policyholder meeting in June. Eric
Oliver and Bernie Francis will serve terms set to expire on July 1, 2005. The
governor appoints five of the company's directors, including the chair.
Policyholders elect the other four members.
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