Agent News

We are pleased to report that A.M. Best has reaffirmed an “A-” (Excellent) rating with a stable outlook for AF Group and its brands, including Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, CompWest Insurance, Third Coast Underwriters and United Heartland.

“We are very proud of our financial position, which is the result of our exceptional teammates working toward consistent, industry-leading performance that has placed us among an elite tier of industry providers,” said Lisa Corless, president of AF Group. “With the support of our agent partners, we are committed to sustaining the financial strength and capital adequacy necessary to support an A.M. Best rating at a minimum of ‘A-’ at all times.”

You have played a significant role in helping us achieve our ongoing success – and we are appreciative of your efforts. We look forward to your continued partnership as we plan for greater achievements in 2017.

As part of AF Group’s digital strategy to build brand awareness, the enterprise has changed the URL to AFGroup.com. We’re excited about this change as it simplifies the web address and aligns the site with the actual holding company name.

Note that previous web addresses for the holding company, including AFGroupInsurance.com and AFHI.com, will continue to direct traffic to the AFGroup.com domain.

On a related note, if you haven’t visited our 3CU site recently, stop by for a visit and explore all that we’re doing to build our reputation in the marketplace.

We know that the value of an insurance provider is in the promises they keep. That’s why we maintain a set of customer commitments more specialized than most in the business. As your partner in workers’ compensation, we offer resources to help you to share that message with prospects and policyholders.

An effective tool for communicating the 3CU commitment to excellent customer service, superior claims management and loss control expertise is our video “Our Promise, Your Success.”

The video highlights our unique promises to customers with complex operations, which include:

• A high-touch customer service model incorporating an expectations meeting within the first 30 days, quarterly account reviews and a toolkit for managing safety.
• Superior claims management through dedicated claims professionals, thorough operations reviews, Care Analytics and an aggressive approach to rooting out fraud.
• Loss control expertise including a 27-point Gap Analysis and extensive loss control materials and resources.

These promises mean measurable results for policyholders—fewer accidents and lesser costs.

To view or share the video, visit our video library at 3cu.com.

At Third Coast Underwriters (3CU), our customers are our top priority. Because we specialize in addressing complex operations and challenging exposures, we know the importance of developing unique workers’ compensation solutions. The list below illustrates the varied mix of accounts we have written recently within our core segments. Let us help you deliver successful outcomes for your customers today. For more information, visit 3CU.com, email [email protected] or call 866-641-2328.

AGRIBUSINESS

• Agribusiness Cooperatives – $284,300 – $315,200
• Contractors – Machinery Dealers and Drivers – $707,000
• Farm – Livestock or Cattle Raising – $628,700 – $698,800
• Farm – Raising, Harvesting and Preparing for Market – $684,000
• Store Meat, Fish or Poultry Dealer – $842,100

CONSTRUCTION

• Automatic Sprinkler Installation & Drivers – $182,400 – $183,400
• Burglar Alarm Installation or Repair – $142,800
• Carpentry – $156,900 – $364,500
• Conduit Construction – $156,400 – $366,800
• Concrete Construction – $1,221,500 – $1,729,600
• Concrete or Cement Work – $160,300 – $620,200
• Contractor – Executive Supervisor or Construction Superintendent  – $238,000
• Electric Light or Power Line Construction & Drivers – $831,500
• Electrical Wiring – Within Buildings & Drivers – $271,000
• Excavation – $175,000 – $211,600
• Flooring Installation – $227,700
• Gas Main or Connection Construction & Drivers – $238,200
• HVAC & Refrigeration – $213,700
• Iron or Steel Erection – $220,200 – $1,271,600
• Landscape Contractor – $527,400 – $831,100
• Machinery Dealer & Drivers – $280,900
• Machinery or Equipment Erection or Repair – $227,400 – $330,700
• Masonry –  $203,000 – $474,800
• Painting or Paperhanging – $185,300
• Plumbing –  $151,900 – $469,000
• Roofing & Drivers – $250,000 – $484,000
• Sheet Metal Installation & Drivers – $154,800 – $170,800
• Street Cleaning & Drivers – $464,300
• Street or Road Construction – Paving or Repaving – $167,600 – $371,500
• Store – Hardware – $584,300
• Wallboard Installation –  $481,800 – $1,014,700

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

• Construction or Ag Machinery Manufacturing – $367,200
• Scrap Dealer & Drivers – $154,000 – $684,400
• Rubber Tire Dealers – $1,685,500

ENERGY

• Electric or Power Company –  $206,400
• Oil or Gas Well – Cementing & Drivers – $156,600
• Oil or Gas Well – Instrument Logging or Survey Work & Drivers – $196,300
• Oil Rig Erecting & Drivers –  $221,800
• Oil Still Erection or Repair – $307,800
• Painting or Paperhanging – $477,000
• Salt/Mud Hauling – Employees & Drivers – $256,00 – $436,200

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

• HVAC & Refrigeration – $768,200
• Ink Manufacturing – $242,600

TRANSPORTATION

• Automobile Towing – $186,200 – $500,500
• Beer or Ale Dealer – $1,817,500
• Bus Company – $159,500 – $256,00
• Garbage Collection & Drivers – $428,600
• Lumberyard – New Materials – $320,900
• Storage Warehouse Furniture & Drivers – $184,000
• Store – Wholesale – $243,015-$606,000
• Trucking – $154,400 – $262,500
• Trucking – Long Distance Hauling – $343,300 – $1,428,900
• Vending Distribution – $386,000

Federal

AF Group Outlines Concerns with Latest Draft of Insurance Security Standards

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has produced Data Security Model Law Draft No. 3. AF Group Government Affairs, in coordination with Information Security, remains engaged in the national cyber debate as an active participant in the American Insurance Association’s (AIA) Cyber Task Force. We recognize a need to establish security standards for the industry, but we need a well-drafted law that gives insurers a clear path to compliance without imposing burdens that do not help consumers. We believe it is essential that any model that is adopted by the NAIC and enacted in the states reflects reasonable and practical breach response protocols, protects consumers and is adopted uniformly throughout the country.

AF Group’s primary concern with the NAIC Insurance Data Security Model Law Draft No. 3 pertains to uniformity and the fact that NAIC cannot make the current landscape more complicated for insurers by creating an additional layer of potentially conflicting security and breach requirements. Additionally, there can be minimal or no commissioner/legislative editing of the model by each individual state or collectively through a lead state. Neither of these concerns has been addressed to date.

Moving Forward

Moving forward – Given that this is the third draft, regulators and the industry are experiencing growing fatigue with this issue. At this point, our AIA cyber task force intends to submit comments which clearly communicate very serious changes need to be made to this draft for us to support this model. At this time, AIA is working to provide examples of our continued objections in order to include in a formal response.

State

Florida’s Proposed House Committee Bill Would Change Fees

The 2017 Session of the Florida Legislature convened on Tuesday, March 7, and will last 60 days.  Workers’ compensation legislation seeking to address not just the issue of attorneys’ fees but also adoption of a loss cost rating system and other revisions have been released by the Senate (SB 1582) and the House. Recently, the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee held an initial meeting to consider a Proposed Committee Bill (PCB) that would among other things retain the statutory attorneys’ fee schedule but provide for an hourly “departure fee”, adopt a loss cost rating methodology, and provide for medical fee schedules.  Initial analysis executed by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) indicates the PCB will generate significant system savings.

Iowa Senate to Review House Work Comp Bill

The Senate is scheduled to consider House File 518 this week, which was passed by the Iowa House of Representatives. HF 518 reduces benefits for shoulder injuries by 80%, by changing description from full-body injury to scheduled injury. The proposal would not allow administrators from considering loss of earning capacity when establishing a claimant’s permanent partial disability award if the claimant returns to work at the same or greater salary. The bill was amended to include up to $15,000 in vocational rehabilitation for injured workers who can no longer pursue employment in their previous line of work. The legislation was also amended to remove language that ended benefits for injured workers at the age 67 or 150 weeks after the date of injury.

WorkCompCentral reported claimants’ attorneys flooded the Iowa Division of Workers’ Compensation with an extraordinary number of filings of original notices and petitions. From March 1-13, there were 854 new filings, compared to an average of 400 per month.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker-Backed Bill Would Impact State’s Labor Boar              

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has introduced Assembly Bill 64, a two-year budget bill, to the State Legislature. Within AB 64, there’s a provision that would eliminate the state’s Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC), which reviews workers comp administrative decisions. AF Group in coordination with the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance is currently analyzing the potential impact of this proposal on the industry. As more details are solidified, we’ll be sure to keep you informed.

Industry Leaders to Pursue Rule Changes in Indiana to Address Access to High-Risk Pool

Majority Floor Leader Representative. Matt Lehman (R-Berne) and House Insurance Committee Member Rep. Peggy Mayfield (R-Martinsville) both introduced separate language in the 2017 session to address increased access to the high-risk workers’ compensation pool. Indiana currently has a +/-50% range for schedule rating. Rep. Lehman’s proposal in House Bill (HB) 1318 would have made a change to +/-25%. Rep. Mayfield proposed limiting the ability to deny access to the high-risk pool in HB 1559.

An agreement was reached to remove the language from HB 1318 as well as not moving forward with 1559. Instead, the industry led by the Insurance Institute of Indiana will work with the Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau (ICRB) on a solution outside of the legislature. The ICRB believes changes can be addressed through their rules as opposed to a statutory change.  The ICRB suggests a solution to file a new rule with the Commissioner, based on the existing national rule in the NCCI Basic Manual, which defines a reasonable offer in the regular market. The national rule defines “reasonable” when the regular market offer is less than or equal to the assigned risk market premium. Thus, any offer above the assigned risk market premium would not meet the definition of reasonable, and the employer would qualify for an assigned risk policy.

Industry Neutral on Proposed Work Comp Changes in Illinois

The Illinois Senate has introduced a bipartisan package of 13 bills intended to provide framework for ending the current budget impasse and address workers’ compensation reform. Senate Bill 12, which addresses work comp, is neither good enough to support nor awful enough to oppose at the present time, so the industry has taken a neutral position, and insists on the need for the key improvements.

Several Work Comp Bills Under Consideration in Oklahoma

AF Group legislative counsel reports there are several workers’ comp bills that are percolating currently, but will most likely end up in a conference committee in May, as per custom in Oklahoma. HB 1462 and SB 737 are the major omnibus bills that will attempt to address some of the roughly 40 constitutional infirmities of the 2013 reform bill identified by the courts thus far. The proponents of opt-out and their legislative supporters hope to include provisions sufficient to resuscitate that alternative system. We have a long way to go legislatively in 2017 for Oklahoma.