Agent News

August 2015

Class Codes

Focusing on markets that Accident Fund knows the best helps your agency achieve profitability. Make sure you know which class codes are on top.

Arkansas

  • 5221 Concrete Or Cement Work-Floors, Driveways, Yards Or Sidewalks-& Drivers
  • 6325 Conduit Construction-For Cables Or Wires-& Drivers
  • 6217 Excavation & Drivers
  • 5183 Plumbing NOC & Drivers
  • 5445 Wallboard Installation Within Buildings & Drivers

Georgia

  • 5102 Door, Door Frame Or Sash Erection-Metal Or Metal Covered
  • 3724 Machinery Or Equipment Erection Or Repair NOC And Drivers
  • 8869 Professional Employees: School or College
  • 9083 Restaurant: Fast Food
  • 9154 Theater NOC: All Other Employees

Illinois

  • 8868 College: Professional Employees & Clerical
  • 6504 Food Sundries Mfg NOC-No Cereal Milling

Indiana

  • 8832 Physician & Clerical
  • 4484 Plastics Manufacturing: Molded Products NOC

Iowa

  • 8227 Construction Or Erection Permanent Yard
  • 6217 Excavation & Drivers
  • 0042 Landscape Gardening & Drivers
  • 9102 Park NOC-All Employees & Drivers
  • 6306 Sewer Construction-All Operations & Drivers

Kansas

  • 9101 College: All Other Employees
  • 8868 College: Professional Employees & Clerical
  • 5221 Concrete Or Cement Work-Floors, Driveways, Yards Or Sidewalks-& Drivers
  • 7380 Drivers, Chauffeurs & Their Helpers NOC-Commercial
  • 7231 Trucking: Mail, Parcel Or Package Delivery-All Employees & Drivers

Maryland

  • 0917 Domestic Service Contractor-Inside
  • 8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public And Traveling-All Employees
  • 9554 Sign Installation, Maintenance, Repair Or Removal & Drivers

Michigan

  • 9015 Buildings-Operation-By Owner, Lessee, Or Real Estate Management Firm: All Other Employees
  • 7380 Drivers, Chauffeurs & Their Helpers NOC-Commercial
  • 9058 Hotel: Restaurant Employees
  • 0042 Landscape Gardening
  • 4299 Printing

Minnesota

  • 9060 Club-Country, Golf, Fishing Or Yacht-& Clerical
  • 9101 College: All Other Employees
  • 8868 College: Professional Employees & Clerical
  • 8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public And Traveling-All Employees
  • 8824 Retirement Living Centers: Health Care Employees

Mississippi

  • 9060 Club-Country, Golf, Fishing Or Yacht-& Clerical
  • 8829 Convalescent Or Nursing Home-All Employees
  • 5537 Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration
  • 5474 Painting Or Paperhanging NOC & Shop Operations, Drivers
  • 5183 Plumbing NOC & Drivers

Missouri

  • 9101 College: All Other Employees
  • 8868 College: Professional Employees & Clerical
  • 7380 Drivers, Chauffeurs & Their Helpers NOC-Commercial
  • 7231 Trucking: Mail, Parcel Or Package Delivery-All Employees & Drivers
  • 9063 Ymca, Ywca, Ymha Or Ywha, Institution-All Employees & Clerical

Nebraska

  • 5437 Carpentry-Installation Of Cabinet Work Or Interior Trim
  • 9220 Cemetery Operations & Drivers
  • 8015 Copying Or Duplicating Service – All Employees & Clerical, Salespersons
  • 3632 Machine Shop NOC
  • 5445 Wallboard Installation Within Buildings & Drivers

North Carolina

  • 8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public And Traveling-All Employees
  • 4250 Paper Coating
  • 8864 Social Services Organization – All Employees & Salespersons

South Carolina

  • 6834 Boat Building Or Repair & Drivers
  • 9101 College: All Other Employees
  • 2302 Silk Thread Or Yarn Mfg

Tennessee

  • 8868 College: Professional Employees & Clerical
  • 5537 Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration
  • 8832 Physician & Clerical
  • 5183 Plumbing NOC & Drivers
  • 9083 Restaurant: Fast Food

Texas

  • 7390 Beer Or Ale Dealer-Wholesale & Drivers
  • 5437 Carpentry-Installation Of Cabinet Work Or Interior Trim
  • 9220 Cemetery Operations & Drivers
  • 8034 FISH, Meat or Poultry Dealer – Wholesale
  • 9620 Funeral Director & Drivers

Virginia

  • 8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public And Traveling-All Employees
  • 6216 Oil Or Gas Lease Work NOC-By Contractor & Drivers
  • 8864 Social Services Organization – All Employees & Salespersons

Wisconsin

  • 3632 Machine Shop NOC
  • 9082 Restaurant NOC
Rate Changes

Please take note the upcoming rate changes in various states.

Core States

 

The following core states have a pending rate change. New rates are not yet available in eLink; however, some renewing policies may be viewable in the renewal index. Please refrain from releasing quotes and renewals for these states until rates are updated.

State Effective Date
Michigan 11/01/15
Wisconsin 10/01/15

South Carolina

Effective Nov. 1, 2015, Accident Fund is adopting NCCI’s loss costs in South Carolina. The overall impact of this change across our book of business is +2.1%. Please note that rates will vary by class. New rates became available in our e-business system on July 20, 2015.

Please be sure to discuss pricing options for all new business and renewals with your business development consultant

Agency Hall of Fame

The Agency Hall of Fame is recognition for those agencies that write the most new business each month. The acknowledgment, given to top agencies in each state, allows us to show appreciation to our agent partners for their efforts.

Arkansas

  • Cashion Co. Inc., Little Rock
  • Meadors, Adams & Lee, Inc., Little Rock

Georgia

  • Griffin & Company Inc., Albany
  • Risk Innovations, LLC, Atlanta

Illinois

  • GTPS Insurance Agency, Champaign
  • Unland Co., Pekin

Indiana

  • 1st Source Insurance, Inc., South Bend
  • Gregory & Appel Insurance Agency, Indianapolis

Iowa

  • PDCM Insurance, Waterloo
  • Two Rivers Insurance Services, Burlington

Kansas

  • Copeland Insurance Agency Inc., Manhattan
  • Sims Insurance Services, Inc., Maize

Maryland

  • Moody & Associates Inc., Germantown
  • Rosenkilde & Associates, Hunt Valley

Michigan

  • InPro Insurance Group, Inc., Troy
  • The Sterling Group, Inc., Sterling Heights

Minnesota

  • Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Bloomington
  • The Christensen Group, Inc., Minnetonka

Mississippi

  • Bottrell Insurance, Jackson
  • Cornerstone Insurance & Financial, Inc., Booneville

Missouri

  • Charles L. Crane Agency Company, Saint Louis
  • Jerome L. Howe, Inc., Brentwood

Nebraska

  • Quinn Insurance Inc., Omaha
  • UNICO Group, Inc., Lincoln

North Carolina

  • Carolina Underwriters and Financial Group, Cornelius
  • Sentinel Risk Advisors LLC, Raleigh

South Carolina

  • C. T. Lowndes & Co., Charleston
  • Correll Insurance Group, Inc., Spartanburg

Tennessee

  • J. Smith Lanier & Co., Chattanooga
  • Miller Loughry Beach Insurance Services, Murfreesboro

Texas

  • Insgroup, Inc., Houston
  • MHBT Inc., Dallas

Virginia

  • Mid Atlantic Insurance Svcs Inc., Richmond
  • Nansemond Insurance Agency, Inc., Suffolk

Wisconsin

  • Diversified Insurance Solutions, Brookfield
  • Hub International Midwest Ltd., Sheboygan
Legislative Update

Legislative Update is a brief synopsis of relevant legislative activity currently taking place in Accident Fund core and accommodation states. For more details or further documentation on any of these legislative activities, contact your business development consultant.

Federal

According to the 2015 TRIA enacted in January, Treasury and the Federal Insurance Office are required to collect insurance industry terrorism data beginning in 2016. Creating a duplicate or new data reporting process for the federal government would not be ideal and could be quite cumbersome and costly for the industry. The Federal Insurance Office has been meeting with the insurance industry to address challenges on how to manage the mandatory collection of terrorism insurance data necessary for a report to help Congress evaluate the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act’s effectiveness. More development and structure surrounding reporting requirements are expected over the next few months.

State

Illinois

The stalemate between Governor Bruce Rauner (R) and Democrat legislators is likely to continue for the remainder of summer and into fall. Reforms initiated by the governor that seemed hopeful earlier this year have turned negative, ultimately putting the industry on defense. The industries primary interest remains in negotiating acceptable workers’ compensation reforms such as limitations on doctor dispensation of drugs, employment causation, increased reliance on AMA and further medical fee schedule reductions. Hopefully, Illinois politics won’t make an already challenging market more difficult to operate in.

California

The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has scheduled a public meeting to discuss issues related to developing an evidence-based drug formulary for use in the workers’ compensation system. The meeting will be held Tuesday, Sept. 8. This meeting is an opportunity for the public to provide input to the Division on developing and implementing a formulary. DWC will facilitate discussion on how to best achieve the intended goals of an evidence-based drug formulary in the workers’ compensation system.

South Carolina

South Carolina legislative session has adjourned for 2015 and won’t return until mid January. The primary concern and focus of our industry is opt-out legislation. House Bill 4197 was introduced by Representative Bill Sandifer. Increasing his ability to initiate debate, Representative Sandifer successfully had his proposal referred to the Labor Commerce and industry Committee, a committee which he currently serves as Chairman. South Carolina Opt-Out was initiated by the Association for Responsible Alternatives to Workers’ Compensation (ARAWC).

Information Sources – American Insurance Association, Insurance Institute of Michigan, MIRS, Workcompcentral, Illinois Chamber of Commerce

Disclaimer of Liability

This document is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This information is subject to change. Every effort is made to provide accurate and complete information in Accident Fund Holding’s Legislative Update. However, Accident Fund Holdings makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Update and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this newsletter.

All content within the Legislative Update is the property of Accident Fund Holdings, Inc., unless otherwise stated. All rights are reserved. No part of the Update may be reproduced, transmitted or copied in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of Accident Fund Holdings.

New Marketing Flyer Available – Hidden Costs of Work Comp Claims

flyer_thumbnailAs your trusted business partner, we’re committed to providing you with resources and materials that help you easily sell the value of Accident Fund to prospective and renewing policyholders. We offer you a wealth of materials that promote our loss control services, our superior claims management, our ease of doing business philosophy and our overall strength and stability.

To help demonstrate the impact of direct and indirect costs associated with workers’ compensation claims, we recently createdthis flyer. Understanding the impacts of indirect costs and how to combat them by having the proper programs and safety measures in place can dramatically reduce the overall cost of a claim. Share this flyer with your Accident Fund customers so indirect costs don’t ‘sink’ them!

There are several other Marketing flyers and brochures available to you and your Accident Fund customers. These items can be downloaded on our website or ordered from our secure Agent and Policyholder websites. Be sure to check out what’s available today!

Classifying Employees versus Independent Contractors

Construction-workersThe misclassification of employees as independent contractors presents one of the most serious problems facing workers, employers and the economy as a whole. Misclassified employees are often denied access to critical benefits and protections to which they are entitled, including workers’ compensation coverage.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is working with the IRS and many states to combat employee misclassification and to ensure that workers get the wages, benefits, and protections to which they are entitled. To this end, the U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a blog post (summarized in this Insurance Journal article) that explains new guidance on classifying workers as employees or independent contractors under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA). The Department supports the use of legitimate independent contractors, who play an important role in our economy, but when employers deliberately misclassify employees in an attempt to cut costs, everyone loses.

In a memo issued last month, the Department of Labor outlined six factors to consider when determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. While factors can vary, and while no one set is exclusive, the following can be used as a general guideline:

  1. The extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business.
  2. Whether the worker’s managerial skills affect his or her opportunity for profit and loss.
  3. The relative investments in facilities and equipment by the worker and the employer.
  4. The worker’s skill and initiative.
  5. The permanency of the worker’s relationship with the employer.
  6. The nature and degree of control by the employer.

For detailed information about each of the factors listed above, click here.

Earn a Trip to Paradise

Bora-Bora-LagoonWe hope you’re having a successful year and are working hard to build your performance in order to attend next year’s trip to Bora Bora. Our 2015 top performers will join us on this trip to paradise, which takes place March 13 – 20, 2016.

We’ll spend six nights and seven days on the breathtaking Polynesian island surrounded by a lagoon of the most pristine blue and green water, white-sand beaches and towering green peaks on the horizon. Water is a way of life in Bora Bora – and we’ll definitely spend plenty of time enjoying it. There will be several water-related activities for our guests to participate in, such as:

  • Jetski tour of the lagoon — Have some adrenaline-fueled fun as you cruise in warm waters while taking in the incredible greenery and crystal-clear waters of this Polynesian paradise.
  • Reef discovery snorkel — Explore Bora Bora’s coral as you snorkel in the most preserved and vibrant coral gardens of the lagoon and encounter a rich variety of marine life including anemone fish, moray eels, and the beautiful and graceful manta rays and eagle rays.
  • Deep sea fishing — The crystal clear water allows fishermen to discover the sea life and appreciate fresh fish in a very unique way.

If you’re looking for something to do on land, we would recommend a visit to the Four Seasons Spa. Nestled at the edge of the lagoon and surrounded by tropical groves, the award-winning Four Seasons Spa features breathtaking views of the pristine Pacific Ocean. Pamper yourself with treatments that incorporate the natural ingredients of French Polynesia, such as monoi, tamanu, kahaia and vanilla. Purify your mind and body with a signature spa ritual treatment, choose from a luxurious selection of holistic massages, enjoy an invigorating body or facial treatment, or nourish and condition your hands and feet with one of their holistic, hot stone treatments.

We encourage you to visit our trip website to learn more and watch for the monthly incentive trip updates in your email. We hope to see you in paradise!