Workers comp hike possible
- The Washington Department of Labor & Industries has proposed a 4.8 percent increase in the average price employers and workers pay for workers’ compensation insurance next year.
- If adopted, the increase would mean employers and workers would jointly pay an additional $61 a year, on average, for each full-time employee within a business.
- Workers will continue to pay on average about a quarter of the premium, a similar percentage to that paid in 2022.
- In most states, rates are charged as a percentage of payroll, so when employee wages go up, more premiums are collected. In Washington, rates are charged as an amount per hours worked. When wages go up, the rate paid stays the same.
Dealing with workplace violence
- Nearly half of U.S. employers report they are unprepared to prevent and respond to violent incidents on the job.
- Over the past decade, healthcare has consistently ranked as the industry most impacted by workplace violence, with an average of nearly 13,000 non-fatal violent incidents occurring annually.
- Behind transportation incidents, violence is the most common cause of death for women in the workplace.
- The National Safety Council recently released a report and playbook through its Work to Zero initiative: Workplace Violence: Using Technology to Reduce Risk.
What’s impacting the accident and health insurance industry
- There are three key trends impacting the future of the accident and health insurance industry.
- The first is the worker compensation industry dealt with pricing pressure over the past several quarters which could negatively impact growth.
- There has been growth in the accident and health insurance industry, which is driven by an increase in benefits offered by employers.
- Technology continues to play a large role in marketing among carriers geared toward the tech-savvy population. cates encouraging near-term prospects.
Uber Technologies pay $100M
Uber Technologies Inc. paid $100 million to resolve allegations of misclassifying its drivers and failing to pay unemployment insurance taxes in New Jersey.
There has been an ongoing legal battle over the employment status of rideshare and delivery drivers, who are routinely classified as independent contractors.
Workers in this category don’t qualify for workers’ compensation, minimum wage and overtime laws and unemployment insurance.
Uber Technologies said it does not agree with the state’s view that drivers were employees.