State Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon), the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and others recently spoke out against two eerily familiar Democrat-sponsored bills that would overhaul worker’s compensation in Illinois. SB2863, which amends the Employer’s Liability Rates Article of the Illinois Insurance Code, along with HB4595, which amends the Illinois Insurance Code provision concerning the Illinois Workers’ Compensation…
Who are the most expensive workers to insure in Illinois? It’s not roofers or sawmill operators, coal miners or painters. Nor is it loggers, steelworkers or carnies. In 2018, oil and gas drillers paid the highest rates for workers’ compensation in the state. High risk for severe injury plus a tiny pool of industry players combine to generate rates of…
Workers’ compensation is the third-largest line in property & casualty insurance, accounting for 9% of all P&C net premiums, according to a J.D. Power analysis of S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Four states comprise 37% of direct premiums written for workers’ compensation in the United States: California, New York, Florida and Illinois. Although the workers’ compensation line has been profitable…
The prescribing of topical pain-management creams rose in 2017 workers compensation claims that were not monitored by pharmacy benefits managers, according to a report released Wednesday by Coventry Workers Comp. The second in a series covering workers comp drugs trends, Downers Grove, Illinois-based Coventry compared its 2017 data on managed claims, representing 77.6% of total comp prescriptions, and unmanaged claims,…
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is reminding individuals and organizations sponsoring fireworks displays in Illinois to be sure their fireworks vendor has the required state licenses and certificates issued by the IDNR and the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) prior to their fireworks show. The Illinois Explosives Act requires that anyone who purchases, possesses, uses, transfers,…
Hospital outpatient payments were higher and growing faster in states with percent-of-charge-based fee regulations or no fee schedules, finds a study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) that compares 35 states. States with percent-of-charge-based fee regulations had substantially higher hospital outpatient payments per surgical episode than states with fixed-amount fee schedules—30 to 196 percent higher than the median of…
By Dr. Laura Gardner, Vice President, Products, CLARA Analytics Putting the injured worker first is key to the “advocacy-based claims model,” which puts the worker at the center of all activity. “It focuses on improving the injured worker’s experience. Until now, most employers have focused on corporate outcomes. Goals such as cutting costs and reducing days lost. But experts now…
An Elmhurst couple whose infant daughter died at a west suburban day care has filed a lawsuit against the business, alleging that understaffing and negligence led to the child’s death. The wrongful death lawsuit was filed Tuesday in DuPage County against Tender Harts, a day care operated in a Lombard residence. The suit alleges 3-month-old Tessa McDaniel was left unattended…
A Mount Prospect man has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $50,000 in damages against the Elk Grove Village woman who drove the vehicle that struck and killed his wife in a pedestrian crosswalk in June. Plaintiff Eric T. Jakubowski is identified as the administrator of the estate of his late wife, Joni Beaudry, in the wrongful death suit against…
Falls and struck-by incidents continue to cause the largest number of work-related deaths statewide based on preliminary information released today by the state Department of Labor. Struck-by incidents accounted for the most work-related deaths with 19, while falls accounted for 12 deaths. The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Division inspected 48 work-related deaths last year. “Year after year, we see…
