Arizona Volunteer Fire Depts See Premium Surge

Arizona’s rural fire departments, many of which are staffer by volunteers, are seeing a surge in workers’ compensation premiums.
Chief John Novak of the San Simon Fire Department said his department, which is entirely volunteer-based, faces a dramatic increase in insurance premiums, with costs jumping from $4,800 per volunteer last year to a now quoted $37,000 per volunteer annually, according to a Tucson television report.
According to KVOA news, insurance agent Lona Huffman of RT Emergency Insurance linked the issue to the passing of ARS 23-901 Section D two years ago, which mandates that volunteer firefighters insurance premiums get billed as if they were full-time employees.
READ MORE

Michigan’s Supreme Court heard oral arguments challenging the decades-long precedent that undocumented workers have been illegally denied benefits when injured on the job.
The suit was filed by the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center in 2022, challenging a decades-old decision that has served as legal precedent to deny these benefits.
Under Michigan caselaw, workers are only entitled to medical and wage loss benefits “until their undocumented status is identified.” Once the employer finds out, “wage loss benefits cease to be available.”
If the appeal to the state’s Supreme Court is successful, the decision would make it so undocumented workers in Michigan are now eligible for benefits.
READ MORE

Old Republic said that in the third quarter, its workers’ comp business continued to have strong favorable development and accounted for the majority of its Specialty lines group’s total favorable development.
WC net premiums written were 2% lower in the Q3, while the loss ratio came in at 48.5% compared to 50.7% last year.
In a call with analysts to review the period’s financial results, executives said they saw rates stay relatively flat in Q3, while loss frequency trend continues to decline and loss severity trend remains stable.
“Given the higher wage trend within payroll, which is what we apply our rates to, and given the declining loss frequency trend and stable loss severity trend, we think our rate levels for workers’ compensation remain adequate,” said Craig Spetty, President and CEO.
READ MORE