A court will hear the State Compensation Insurance Fund’s contention that its tiered rating system algorithm was appropriately filed with the California Department of Insurance. State Fund convinced the court to reject requests by the CDI and an employer to deny State Fund’s petition– but just barely. The case affects the tier modifiers; it applied…
Workers’ compensation premiums, or the amount the employer pays to insurance companies to protect the employer as well as the employee in the event of a workplace accident, can be challenging to calculate. A premium is based in part on the dollars in payroll the company pays as well as the employer’s industry. Underreporting of…
Workers’ compensation premiums, or the amount an employer pays to an insurance company in exchange for the carrier providing medical treatment and compensation to employees in the event of workplace accidents, are audited at the end of the policy term. Before the policy becomes effective, workers’ comp insurance companies prepare an initial estimate of premiums,…
Workers’ compensation insurance, the nation’s oldest social insurance, protects employees and employers if an employee is injured while on the job. If employees get hurt or are sick because of work, an employer must pay workers’ compensation benefits, and those benefits are typically paid through insurance. Because this insurance affects nearly all California employers and…
While a predetermined formula sets workers’ compensation insurance premiums, employers often dispute the amounts of the premiums they are asked to pay and it’s no surprise as to why: Insurance premiums are one of the many challenging costs for California employers. In fact, according to a 2014 report, California is the most expensive state for…
Worker’s compensation insurance is a legal necessity for most employers in California. The purpose of worker’s comp insurance is to provide a safety net for workers if they are injured on the job. There is no cost to workers to file a claim and the insurance must be provided and paid for by the employer.…
Under California law, employers must have worker’s compensation insurance policies in place to cover their employees. The state also allows certain employers to self-insure. This is called a Self-Insurance Program (“SIP”). Which Employers Can Self-Insure? California has specific guidelines in place that determine whether an employer can self-insure. First, employers who want to self-insure must…
A self insured employer is one who self insures their workers’ compensation liabilities. If you are one such employer, you are not alone: California has the largest workers’ compensation self insurance program in the nation. As of January 1, 2014, nearly 10,000 California employers were actively self insured. Employers may choose to self insure their…
If your California employee was injured, or claims to have been injured on the job, they may want to visit with their own doctor or medical professional. While they are welcome to do so, they generally must also visit with an in-network doctor. Indeed, many workers comp insurance carriers include a Medical Provider Network (MPN)…
An insurance carrier and a policyholder have a contractual relationship. The policyholder pays premiums in exchange for insurance coverage for certain events and losses as set forth in the policy. Insurance bad faith occurs when an insurance carrier unreasonably fails to investigate or pay a covered loss, which happens more often than one might think. …