As year-end approaches, many businesses turn their attention to tax planning with the goal of minimizing federal and state taxes. Few invest a similar amount of time in reviewing their Workers’ Compensation, even though significant dollars are at risk. When...

A recent report by the American Association of Family Practitioners notes that occupational diseases account for 860,000 illnesses and more than 60,000 deaths each year. And this runs the gamut of causes, everything from coal miners contracting black lung disease...

The fact that there is an obesity epidemic in the United States is evident everywhere. A movie theatre seat has grown from an average of 19 inches to 23 inches wide, revolving doors from six feet to eight feet wide,...

Healthier employees lead to lower premiums, according to numerous studies. If companies can help their workers improve their health without cutting benefits or shifting more premium costs to employees, where is the downside? After all, Fortune 1000 companies have been...

In a perfect world, every injured worker would be treated by a physician trained in Occupational Medicine, one who understands how to facilitate recovery and expedite return to work. However, it’s not unusual for employers and employees to be dealing...

Supervisors play a key role in the management of injuries, return‐to‐work and reasonable accommodations under ADA. While supervisors may be well trained in the functional aspects of maintaining a safe workplace, reporting injuries, investigating injuries and return‐to‐work programs, many fall...

Like most agents, you work hard at writing new accounts, what salespeople through the years have referred to as “getting the fish in the boat.” But it doesn’t take a master angler to know that once you get the fish,...

If the anecdotal evidence can be trusted, it’s becoming more and more common that contractors are being put on notice that they will lose the opportunity to bid on jobs if their Workers’ Compensation Experience Mods hit a certain point....

Most business owners and managers purchase Workers’ Compensation in the wrong way. About 90 to 120 days before their policies expire, they put it out to bid and get quotes. Once in, they review the prices and usually select the...

One of the most confusing components of an employer’s Workers’ Compensation Policy is the Experience Modification Factor. They watch it increase and decrease from year to year – higher Experience Modification Factors generally increase costs and lower factors reduce them....