Old Republic Steadies Loss Ratio

Old Republic on Thursday reported workers’ compensation net premiums written held relatively steady quarter-to-quarter while the third quarter loss ratio came in at 58.8% compared to 33.2% last year due to much lower levels of favorable prior year loss reserve development this year when compared to the historically high levels of favorable development the insurer experienced in the year-earlier quarter, management said on a post-earnings conference call.
“Loss frequency trend continues to decline and loss severity trend remains relatively stable. So given the higher wage trend within the payroll, which is our rating base, the declining loss frequency trend, the stable severity trend and our rate decreases of approximately 4% on this line, we continue to remain of the belief that our rate levels remain adequate for workers’ compensation,” President and CEO Craig Smiddy said on the call.
“Yesterday our executives just had a meeting with the folks from NCCI for instance on workers’ comp, and what they’re observing in the way of frequency and severity is pretty much lines up with what we’re seeing in the way of frequency and severity,” Smiddy said.
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A New York state appeals court ruled that an intoxicated employee can be compensated for a work-related injury, placing the burden on his employer to prove his being intoxicated as the “sole cause” of an accident.
In Jose Lujan-Espinzo vs. Electrical Illuminations by Arnold Inc., Lujan-Espinzo was working by himself on a ladder when he fell about eight feet, sustaining serious injuries from the fall.
A toxicology screening showed he had a very high blood alcohol level at the time.
Employer Electrical Illuminations claimed the accident was caused solely by the employee’s intoxication, and it should not be held liable for providing workers’ compensation benefits for the injuries the employee suffered from the fall.
The state WCB found that intoxication was not the sole cause of the accident, noting several other potential contributing factors.
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Tennessee’s Amerimed Medical Solutions was ruled not responsible for an injured worker who couldn’t drive to and from her light-duty return-to-work assignment.
The Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board on Monday reversed a trial court decision that said Bibiane Francoeur had a right to refuse the light-duty assignment because she could not get to work due to the driving restrictions ordered by her physician.
The appellate ruling said that “given the plethora of case law indicating that an employee’s commute is generally not within the course of employment and, unless otherwise specified, is not an employment-related benefit, we cannot, in the absence of a specific statutory or regulatory mandate, impose such an obligation on employers.”
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