Agent News

We’re always looking for ways to make our agents’ experience with Accident Fund as efficient and convenient as possible. One item that agents have asked for is an electronic funds transfer (EFT) option to accelerate the disbursement of monthly commission payments and statements. We are thrilled to announce that we have created a new EFT option, which will be available to all of our agent partners in July!

How do you get started?

Simply complete the EFT application available on our website and send the completed application to [email protected]. Our Finance department will process your request within 30 days. Once approved, your commission statement will be sent to you by the fifth business day of each month, and your electronic payment will follow one or two business days later.

We hope this new process proves to be convenient for you. For more information, click here for FAQs or contact [email protected].

Accident Fund is excited to roll out our new online, secure producer profile. This profile should be completed by any producers who will be writing workers’ compensation policies for AF Group (Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, CompWest, Third Coast Underwriters or United Heartland).

To complete the form, producers simply need to fill in the information requested and click “Submit Producer Profile Form” at the bottom. For ease of use, the form allows producers to look up their National Producer Number. The form is then sent through a secure portal to Accident Fund’s Agency Relations team.

Please share this information and link with your agency licensing representative. As a reminder, anything related to agency or producer changes can be emailed to [email protected] — our team will be happy to assist you with any agency management needs.

After seeing an uptick in claims related to the improper use of ladders/lifts, we launched a new Loss Control campaign to help combat this type of workplace injury. The campaign site focuses on fall prevention and ladder safety and contains several brochures, tip sheets and helpful links.

Please help promote this campaign with your policyholders by sharing our Fall Prevention and Ladder Safety campaign site. If you have any questions about the campaign, please contact your business development consultant.

Accident Fund is using the social media space to provide a greater connection to value-added services, training, industry news and much more. Here’s a quick review of our social channels:

LinkedIn

With almost 3,000 followers, our LinkedIn company page is a convenient way to network with those you interact with at Accident Fund as well as other business partners within the industry. We’ve also created an Accident Fund Agent Forum where you’ll find links to Accident Fund and industry news, notices of new marketing materials and current training opportunities. We also create and monitor discussion threads related to industry topics that have people buzzing.

Twitter

Need your news in smaller doses? Then, join our nearly 1,000 followers and follow @AccidentFund on Twitter. You’ll find similar news and notes that we share elsewhere with plenty of links to additional information.

Facebook

On Facebook, you’ll find the latest Accident Fund news, great tools for you and your policyholders to use, philanthropic events that we’re supporting and plenty of links to worthwhile industry content. If your agency is on Facebook and you have events or information that you’d like to cross-promote, send us a message and we’ll get the word out. “Like” us now at Facebook.com/AccidentFund.

While these sites won’t replace any of the ways we currently communicate with you (e.g.,NewsLink, Agent Alerts, email), social media is just another way to conveniently learn more about and connect with Accident Fund.

When a workplace injury occurs, finding prompt and proper care for the injured worker is top priority. That’s why AF Group created a new mobile app – AF CompAdvisor – which makes it simple to find a nearby physician who specializes in workplace injuries.

Utilizing our patented, award-winning Care Analytics® technology, we’ve developed a database of physicians most knowledgeable in occupational medicine and loaded them into our mobile app. This means that with a few simple clicks on a mobile device, our customers can provide their injured employee with a list of nearby doctors who can best treat their injury.

AF CompAdvisor is available to all Accident Fund agents and policyholders at no cost. It’s available via the iPhone App Store and Android Google Play by searching “AF CompAdvisor.”

We encourage you to share this information with your Accident Fund customers and strongly recommend that key contacts within their business download the app (e.g., Management, Loss Control manager, Human Resources director, etc.). That way they’ll be ready should an unfortunate accident occur – and can rest assured that their employee is being taken care of by a highly qualified workers’ compensation provider in the area.

Click here for an informative flyer to share with your Accident Fund customers. Questions or assistance with downloading the app can be directed to 866-206-5851.

Arkansas

8380 Automobile Service or Repair Center & Drivers

8058 Building Material Dealer-New Materials Only: Store Employees

2802 Carpentry-Shop Only-& Drivers

5474 Painting or Paperhanging NOC & Shop Operations, Drivers

8018 Store: Wholesale NOC

Georgia

0042 Landscape Gardening & Drivers

8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public and Traveling-All Employees

8869 Professional Employees: School or College

9083 Restaurant: Fast Food

5445 Wallboard Installation Within Buildings & Drivers

Illinois

9060 Club-Country, Golf, Fishing or Yacht-& Clerical

8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public and Traveling-All Employees

Indiana

8868 College: Professional Employees & Clerical

8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public and Traveling-All Employees

Iowa

8380 Automobile Service or Repair Center & Drivers

9082 Restaurant NOC

3113 Tool Manufacturing-Not Drop or Machine Forged-NOC

Kansas

5645 Carpentry-Detached One or Two Family Dwellings

5537 Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration

9082 Restaurant NOC

8380 Automobile Service or Repair Center & Drivers

8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public and Traveling-All Employees

Maryland

8835 Nursing – Home Health, Public and Traveling –All Employees

7600 Telephone or Telegraph Co: All Other Employees & Drivers

7231 Trucking:  Mail, Parcel or Package Delivery-All Employees

Michigan

9015 Buildings-Operation-By Owner, Lessee, or Real Estate Management Firm: All Other Employees

5221 Concrete or Cement Work-Floors, Driveways, Yards or Sidewalks

7380 Drivers, Chauffeurs & Their Helpers NOC-Commercial

8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public and Traveling-All Employees

8869 Professional Employees: School or College

Minnesota

8868 College: Professional Employees & Clerical

5537 Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refriger

9052 Hotel: All Other Employees & Salespersons, Drivers

8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public and Traveling-All Employees

9014 Janitorial Services

Mississippi

8748 Automobile Salespersons

8380 Automobile Service or Repair Center & Drivers

9052 Hotel: All Other Employees & Salespersons, Drivers

9082 Restaurant NOC

9083 Restaurant: Fast Food

Missouri

8391 Automobile Repair Shop & Parts Dept Employees, Drivers

6834 Boat Building or Repair & Drivers

8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public and Traveling-All Employees

8046 Store: Automobile Parts &Accessories- NOC & Drivers

5348 Tile, Stone, Mosaic or Terrazzo Work-Inside

Nebraska         

8380 Automobile Service or Repair Center & Drivers

5645 Carpentry-Detached One or Two Family Dwellings

5215 Concrete Work-Incidental to The Construction of Private Residence

8742 Salespersons, Collectors or Messengers -Outside

North Carolina

8835 Nursing – Home Health, Public and Traveling –All Employees

7600 Telephone or Telegraph Co: All Other Employees & Drivers

7231 Trucking:  Mail, Parcel or Package Delivery-All Employees

South Carolina

8835 Nursing – Home Health, Public and Traveling –All Employees

7600 Telephone or Telegraph Co: All Other Employees & Drivers

7231 Trucking:  Mail, Parcel or Package Delivery-All Employees

South Dakota

5645 Carpentry-Detached One or Two Family Dwellings

5445 Wallboard Installation Within Buildings & Drivers

9082 Restaurant NOC

8017 Retail Store

Tennessee       

8380 Automobile Service or Repair Center & Drivers

9015 Buildings-Operation-by Owner, Lessee, or Real Estate Management Firm: All Other Employees

5190 Electrical Wiring-Within Buildings & Drivers

5537 Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration

9082 Restaurant NOC

Texas

8391 Automobile Repair Shop & Parts Dept Employees, Drivers

7390 Beer or Ale Dealer-Wholesale & Drivers

9014 Buildings-Operation by Contractors

9052 Hotel: All Other Employees & Salespersons, Drivers

3066 Sheet Metal Work-Shop

Virginia

8835 Nursing – Home Health, Public and Traveling –All Employees

7600 Telephone or Telegraph Co: All Other Employees & Drivers

7231 Trucking:  Mail, Parcel or Package Delivery-All Employees

Wisconsin

8868 College: Professional Employees & Clerical

8835 Nursing-Home Health, Public and Traveling-All Employees

Rate Changes

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
South Carolina	11/01/16
Wisconsin	10/01/16

Rate Changes in Production

Arkansas – Effective July 1, 2016, Accident Fund will adopt NCCI’s loss costs in Arkansas. The NCCI overall average loss cost level decrease is 4.3%, but the actual impact will vary by class. New rates became available in our system on May 9.

South Dakota – Effective July 1, 2016, Accident Fund adopted NCCI’s rate change in the state of South Dakota with an overall industry rate level decrease of 1.3%. The actual change will vary by class. New rates became available in our eLink system on May 9.

Tennessee – Effective Aug. 28, 2016, Accident Fund will adopt NCCI’s loss costs in Tennessee, with an overall loss cost level decrease of 2.7%. The actual impact will vary by class. New rates became available in our system on May 16.

Texas – Effective July 1, 2016, Accident Fund is adopting NCCI’s loss costs in the state of Texas. The voluntary loss costs reflect an overall decrease of 9.9%, but rates will vary by class. New rates became available in our eLink system on April 25.

Accommodation States

State	NCCI/ Bureau Impact	Effective Date
Alaska	-3.7%	05/01/16
Massachusetts	+1.5%	07/01/16

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

Arkansas

BancorpSouth Insurance Services, Inc., Little Rock

BHC Insurance, Fort Smith

Georgia

Brown & Brown Insurance of Georgia, Duluth

Starr – Mathews Agency, Inc., Cartersville

Illinois

1. L. Hubbard Insurance and Bonds Agency, Inc., Forsyth

Ralph Weiner & Associates, LLC, Wheeling

Indiana

First Insurance Group Inc, Bloomington

Shepherd Insurance, LLC, Carmel

Iowa

Harper Insurance Agency, LLC, Manchester

Holmes, Murphy and Associates, LCC, West Des Moines

Kansas

KFSA Insurance, LLC, Hutchinson

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

Maryland

Early Cassidy & Schilling, Inc, Rockville

Georgetown Insurance Services, Inc., Silver Spring

Michigan

Cambridge P & C, A Marsh & McLennan Agcy LLC Company, Livonia

The Larkin Group, Traverse City

Van Wyk Risk Solutions, Grand Rapids

Minnesota

Bearence Management Group, LLC, Mendota Heights

1. A. Price Agency, Inc., Eden Prairie

Mississippi     

Bottrell Insurance, Jackson

Insurance & Risk Managers, Brookhaven

Missouri

Charles L. Crane Agency Company, Saint Louis

Risk Innovations LLC – NE, Lees Summit

Nebraska

Quinn Insurance Inc., Omaha

UNICO Group, Inc., Lincoln

North Carolina

ECM Solutions, Charlotte

Hub International Southeast, Burlington

South Carolina

Bradley Insurance Group LLC, West Columbia

Turbeville Insurance Agency, Inc., Columbia

South Dakota

Howalt McDowell Ins, A Marsh & McLennan Agcy LLC Co, Sioux Falls

The Insurance Connection, Sioux Falls

Tennessee

Athens Insurance Agency, Athens

Shafer Insurance Agency, Inc., Knoxville

Texas

Catto & Catto LLP, San Antonio

Swingle Collins & Associates, Dallas

Virginia

Preferred Insurance Services, Inc., Fairfax

Sheehan Insurance Group, Inc., Haymarket

Wisconsin

Insurance Marketing Group of Wisconsin, Inc (Image), Saint Germain

R & R Insurance Services, Inc., Waukesha

Federal

Legislation was recently introduced in the United States Senate that would tax prescription opioid drugs to provide funding for substance abuse treatment, a move that would create additional costs in workers’ compensation, where opioids are a highly used class of medication. The bill, Budgeting for Opioid Addiction Treatment Act, or LifeBOAT, would tax prescription opioids at a rate of $.01 per milligram of active ingredient.

The bill is expected to generate $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year. The California Workers’ Compensation Institute recently reported that 27.2% of prescriptions dispensed to injured workers in the state were opioids in 2014, down from 31.8% in 2008.

The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would give Congress a greater ability to rein in the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve as the agencies negotiate new capital standards for the insurance industry. The bill’s supporters, including a number of insurance industry trade groups concerned about higher capital standards, argue that the proposal will help shield state-based regulations that are the primary means of oversight for insurers. In addition, the bill would give the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s independent insurance expert the ability to play a bigger role in international insurance discussions. The bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Still, it could apply political pressure on the Federal Reserve and Treasury as they negotiate with foreign officials.

Florida

Florida Supreme Court issued its opinion in the case of Bradley Westphal vs. City of St. Petersburg, invalidating on constitutional grounds the statutory 104 week limitation on temporary total disability (TTD) benefits because workers’ compensation claimants who have not reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) after 104 weeks are not yet entitled to permanent total disability (PTD) benefits.  The Court held that the TTD limitation violates a claimant’s right of access to courts under the Florida Constitution because it results in an indefinite gap in benefits “at a critical time when the worker cannot return to work and is totally disabled, but may still continue to medically improve.”  In lieu of declaring the entire workers’ compensation system invalid, the Court revived the pre 1994 TTD limitation of 260 weeks, which it held to be constitutional in a 1991 case. National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) recently filed an increase in administered rates of 17% prior to the announcement of this legal decision. We expect to see NCCI amend their current filing for an additional rate increase, but we don’t know the amount of the potential increase.

Illinois

The Illinois General Assembly ended the regular 2016 session without a budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 or FY 2017 (FY 2016 ends June 30). The House is scheduling at least one day a week in June to return to Springfield. Ongoing — and of significance to AF Group — are the bipartisan negotiating work groups that continue to meet in an effort to address the Governor’s economic development effort to enact workers’ compensation reform. The “working groups” will be meeting whether the General Assembly is meeting in Springfield or not. While no significant progress has yet been made on workers’ compensation, discussions on key issues such as causation, traveling employee, credits for prior body as a whole injuries, AMA guidelines and the medical fee schedule are continuing. The goal is for the group to develop an “agreed bill” that will reduce work comp system friction and costs, and improve care for injured workers. Progress remains slow and the groups are having difficulty finding common ground. AF Group remains engaged through partnerships with the Illinois Insurance Association and the Illinois Chamber.

Wisconsin

Commissioner Nickel officially announced this week the appointment of J.P. Wieske as Deputy Insurance Commissioner for the Wisconsin Insurance Department. Wieske succeeds Dan Schwartzer who recently left his post as deputy commissioner to work full-time as Special Deputy Commissioner for the Ambac rehabilitation. Wieske previously served as OCI’s Legislative Liaison and Public Information Officer since October 2011. The industry looks forward to working with Mr. Wieske in his new capacity.

Minnesota

This was a relatively quiet year for insurance issues. The industry benefitted from a short 11 week legislative session. Due to divided government, with the Democrats in control of the Senate and the Republicans controlling the House, controversial bills simply did not make it out of committee. 2016 is an election year for the House and Senate, the industry will have to monitor if control in either legislative body changes. Before being submitted to the Legislature, all workers’ comp bills must be approved by the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council; composed equally of labor and management representatives. The Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council Bill, H.F. 2478 was non-controversial this year. The bill generated was technical in nature and nowhere near as controversial as last year’s enacted hospital fee schedule.

Sources: American Insurance Association, MIRS, Politico, Wisconsin Insurance Alliance