California seeing more claims
- California’s written premium for the first six months of 2022 is 27 percent above that for the first six months of 2021, according to the WCIRB.
- The average charged rate for the first half of 2022 is 3 percent lower than 2021 and the lowest in decades.
- The projected loss ratio for 2021, including the cost of COVID-19 claims, is 6 points above that for 2020 and 12 points above that for 2019.
- The projected combined ratio for 2021, including COVID-19 claims, is 8 points higher than in 2020 and 33 points higher than the low point in 2016.
More decreases in N.J.
- The New Jersey Compensation Rating & Inspection Bureau is seeking a 4.7% decrease in the overall premium and rate level effective Jan. 1, 2023.
- The proposed revision is based upon the most recent experience and a review of classification relativity.
- The filing proposed several Manual amendments and changes to experience and retrospective rating values.
- If approved, this would be the eighth year in a row without an increase.
For-profit vocational school arrested for fraud
- A pair of California residents, Rene Carlos Aguero and Gustavo Adolfo Lopez, were arrested for allegedly submitting fraudulent vocational training vouchers for workers’ compensation claims.
- They also failed to provide the training at the for-profit school they run, the Computer Institute of Technology.
- Many of the injured workers were Spanish speakers who were asked to sign documents in English, which they did not understand.
- Aguero and Lopez were charged with 18 felony counts, including conspiracy, insurance fraud, grand theft and forgery with fraudulent insurance claims estimated to reach $1.7 million.
Warehouses and distribution centers are targeted to have safer conditions
- OSHA is boosting the inspection of warehouses in warehousing, storage, and distribution yard operations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
- The emphasis of this new program will address the hazardous conditions these workers continuously face every day.
- OSHA aims to reduce injury/illness rates by conducting comprehensive inspections to address hazards.
- These hazards may include those associated with powered industrial trucks, life safety, and fire suppression.