Agent News

Please take note the upcoming rate changes in various states.

Core States

Arkansas– Effective Sept. 1, Accident Fund will adopt NCCI’s July 1, 2014 loss costs in Arkansas. The NCCI overall average loss cost level change is -1.4%, but the actual impact will vary by class. New rates became available in our system on May 19.

Accommodation States

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

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

• JMR PFP Insurance, Fort Smith
• Roberson & Associates Insurance, Benton

Georgia

• BB & T Insurance Services Inc, Alpharetta
• Johnson & Bryan, Inc., Atlanta

Illinois

• Ralph Weiner & Associates, LLC, Wheeling
• Unland Co., Pekin

Indiana

• MBAH Insurance, Lafayette
• The Pfenninger Agency, Inc., New Castle

Iowa

• INSPRO, Inc., W Des Moines
• Premium Business Insurance Inc, West Des Moines

Kansas

• Robert E. Miller Insurance Agency, Inc., Overland Park
• ZAS, Overland Park

Maryland

• Consolidated Insurance Center, Inc., Owings Mills
• Rossmann – Hurt – Hoffman, Inc., Ellicott City

Michigan

• Brown & Brown of Michigan, Inc., Fenton
• Duclos Agency, Saginaw
• Lighthouse Insurance Group, Inc., Grand Rapids

Minnesota

• Dilley Zimny Insurance, Alexandria
• Waypoint Insurance Advisors, Inc,, Hopkins

Mississippi

• BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc, Jackson
• GCM Insurance Agency, LLC, Columbus

Missouri

• Charles L. Crane Agency Company, Saint Louis
• Naught – Naught Insurance Agency, Inc., Jefferson City

Nebraska

• N P Dodge Insurance Agency, Inc., Omaha
• UNICO Group, Inc., Lincoln

North Carolina

• Senn Dunn Insurance, High Point
• Watson Insurance Agency, Inc., Gastonia

South Carolina

• CWS Insurance Agency, Inc., Spartanburg
• Keenan & Suggs, Inc. – Columbia, Columbia

Tennessee

• HMP Insurance, Germantown
• Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, LLC, Memphis

Texas

• Hamann Insurance Group, Inc., Katy
• MHBT Inc., Dallas

Virginia

• Sheehan Insurance Group, Inc., Haymarket
• Straus Itzkowitz & LeCompte Insurance Agency, Inc., Richmond

Wisconsin

• Brown & Brown of Wisconsin, Inc., Onalaska
• Johnson Insurance Services, Inc., Racine

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

House Financial Services Committee recently released an outline of its TRIA reauthorization proposal, The Terrorism Risk Insurance Modernization (TRIM) Act of 2014. In April, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released their own bipartisan agreement on legislation to re-authorize and extend TRIA. AFHI continues to work with our allies in Congress, specifically those that sit on the House Financial Services Committee. Although TRIA doesn’t expire until Dec. 31, AFHI feels Congress must act now and delay reauthorization no longer. Moving forward we feel some form of TRIA reauthorization will be enacted, questions remain when and what will it look like.

State

Michigan

Michigan Senate Approves State Bill 211 Substitute-4(S-4)

The Michigan Senate approved Senate Bill 211 Substitute-4(S-4), introduced by Tory Rocca (R-Sterling Heights). As introduced, the bill would have amended the Workers’ Disability Compensation Act of 1969 to provide a statutory presumption that, for a member of a fully-paid fire department, all “respiratory tract, bladder, skin, brain, kidney, blood, thyroid, testicular, prostate and lymphatic cancers” would be deemed to have arisen out of the workplace and, therefore, be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. The bill has been introduced in the legislature each of the past five sessions.

In pursuing an alternative proposal, AFHI worked closely with Senate leadership and the firefighter community. The alternative, enacted by the Senate, would create a state-funded fund from which firefighters with certain illnesses could claim benefits directly, thus leaving the existing workers’ compensation system untouched. The bill now moves to the House for further consideration.

Appeals Court Tosses Out Claim To Open MCCA Records

Records of the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) are not subject to public review under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Court of Appeals ruled recently, in a decision that shot down a major policy goal of organizations supporting Michigan’s current automotive no-fault system.

On Dec. 26, 2012, County Circuit Court Judge ruled in favor of Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault CPAN and Brain Injury Association of Michigan BIAMI’s motion for summary disposition, holding that the MCCA was a public body and, therefore, much of its rate-setting information must be disclosed pursuant to CPAN and BIAMI’s FOIA request. The MCCA appealed that ruling.

In its published Opinion, the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the MCCA on all counts.

Kansas

The Kansas Workers Compensation Insurance Plan Governing Board recently voted to recommend to the Kansas Insurance Commissioner that NCCI be awarded the Kansas Workers Compensation Insurance Plan Administration contract beginning Feb. 1, 2014 through Dec. 31, 2019, with the option for two three-year renewals. The delay in the approval past the effective date of the contract was due to extra time taken by the Kansas Department of Administration to review the bids submitted by NCCI and Aon Risk Solutions.

A meeting of the Kansas Workers Compensation Insurance Plan Governing Board was held on May 15 to review the competing bids and vote to make a recommendation to the Insurance Commissioner to award a contract. The Governing Board, which is appointed by the Insurance Commissioner, voted 6-1 in favor of NCCI, with one member abstaining and one member not present.

New Mexico

The New Mexico Court of Appeals has ruled that an insurer must reimburse a workers’ compensation claimant for the cost of medical marijuana to treat his low back pain, even though the substance is illegal under federal law. In Vialpando v. Ben’s Automotive Service and Redwood Fire & Casualty, the appellate court on Monday rejected an argument that an order to reimburse a claimant for medical marijuana would force the employer to violate federal law. We feel medical marijuana will be a priority issue throughout the states in 2015.

Information in this report was sourced from Florida Insurance Council, NAMIC, WorkCompCentral, and NCCI

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.

Each year, we award our top performing agents with a spot on our annual incentive trip. We hope you’ll be motivated to build your performance in order to attend next year’s trip to Scotland, which takes place May 10-17, 2015.

Click below to see a message from Mike Britt about our upcoming Scottish Escape.

We encourage you to visit our trip website at AccidentFundIncentives.com to learn more and watch for the monthly incentive trip updates in your email.

In April, Accident Fund Holdings and its brands (including Accident Fund, United Heartland, CompWest and Third Coast Underwriters) conducted our first Enterprise-wide agency survey. We greatly appreciate your comments, constructive criticism and honest feedback, which will ensure we are working to continually meet the needs of your agency.

Those who completed the survey had the opportunity to enter a drawing for great prizes, such as an Apple Macbook, Apple iPads and $50 Visa gift cards. Congratulations to the following winners:

• Barbara McMillan, Trustpoint Insurance (VA) – Macbook Pro
• Cindy Robinett, Secrest Partners GA) – iPad Air
• Deborah Guinn, Sunbelt Insurance Group (TN) – iPad Air
• Chris Keasler, Sunbelt Insurance Group (TN) – Visa Gift Card
• Brian Hughes, LMC Insurance IA) – Visa Gift Card
• Bob Robinson, Duclos Insurance Agency (MI) – Visa Gift Card
• Jane Radford, Kapnick Insurance Group (MI) – Visa Gift Card
• Mar Salamanca, Brakke Schafnitz Insurance (CA) – Visa Gift Card
• Martha Ewing, Campbell Insurance (VA) – Visa Gift Card
• Dana Groome, Peoples Underwriters, Inc. (SC) – Visa Gift Card
• Lisa Abner, Arthur J Gallagher & Co. (NC) – Visa Gift Card
• Dan Klaras, Assurance Agency (IL) – Visa Gift Card
• Michelle Isola, Peoples First Insurance (SC) – Visa Gift Card

We greatly appreciate your participation in this important satisfaction survey and welcome your ongoing feedback. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Dan Reichardt at 517-708-5624.

*Macbook and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Apple was not a participant in or sponsor of this promotion.

The Roy Westran Memorial Insurance Industry Scholarship Golf Outing celebrates its 21st anniversary this year and we want you to be a part! Taking place Friday, Aug. 1, at Hawk Hollow Golf Course in Bath, Mich., the annual event gathers agents from across the country to help Accident Fund raise scholarship funds for students pursuing insurance-related degrees.

At the same time, the event recognizes the work of the late Roy Westran, an individual committed to the advancement of our profession. Established in 1990, the Westran Memorial Scholarship has awarded more than $775,000 to more than 460 students and helped to ensure the growth of our industry.

We have plenty of room on the green as well as several sponsorship opportunities available. The four-person scramble will begin at 8 a.m. with a continental breakfast, followed by a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. Lunch and an awards reception will follow in the afternoon. For more information, visit WestranScholarship.org or contact Janelle Manolakoudis.

Accident Fund is excited to introduce our newest safety campaign – Hiring for Safety. This campaign provides Accident Fund policyholders with important safety information pertaining to the hiring process and tips on how to keep employees safe once on the job.

Topics of the campaign include:

• Safe hiring practices
• Workplace violence prevention
• Workplace drug and alcohol policy
• Safety basics
• Emergency action plans
• Seasonal hiring
• Return to work programs

Click here for our online campaign and encourage your Accident Fund policyholders to visit the site today. If you have any questions, please contact me or your WorkSafe Consultant.

Accident Fund’s successful Group Programs help businesses keep their employees safe while saving them money and reducing losses. We were pleased to present the Macomb County Chamber program members with a 2% dividend for more than $15,000 in April.

When your customers belong to an Accident Fund Group Program, they can expect the following benefits:

• 5% up-front savings on their premium (except in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin)
• Opportunity for dividend payments based upon the entire group’s loss history
• Access to safety materials through our WorkSafe Toolbox™
• Convenient billing options
• General underwriting guidelines apply

For group program brochures, visit the Marketing Materials Supply Order Form on the Agent website. For more information about Groups, visit AccidentFund.com/groups or contact Theresa Ross or Beth Goodman.