Middleton, WI – The IAIABC recently announced that due to the continually changing COVID-19 landscape its Board of Directors has made the decision to make its 107th Convention, October 26-28, 2021, a completely virtual event. The Board of Directors deliberated extensively, carefully considering both the risks and value of bringing the IAIABC community together in-person.… [Read more]
Association, Rating & Research News
CompPharma Survey: Workers’ Comp Pharmacy Costs Continued Decline During COVID-19
Maggie Valley, NC – Workers’ compensation pharmacy costs continued to decline during COVID-19, driven by a steady reduction in opioid use, according to CompPharma’s 17th Annual Survey of Prescription Drug Management in Workers’ Compensation. “Despite reports of increased opioid use among workers’ comp patients during the COVID year, survey respondents saw opioid spend drop to… [Read more]
RIMS Announces Full-Vaccination Requirement at All Society Events
New York, NY – RIMS has implemented new guidelines that will require anyone who wishes to attend a RIMS in-person event to show that they are fully-vaccinated for COVID-19. The requirement is effective immediately for all events managed by RIMS staff, including the upcoming RIMS Enterprise Risk Management Conference and its Annual Conference & Exhibition… [Read more]
CA WCIRB Releases 2021 Edition of Interactive Industry Stats Report
Oakland, CA – The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) recently released its Interactive Industry Stats – 2021 Edition report that provides premium, exposure and loss information based on unit statistical report data submitted to the WCIRB for policy years 2003 to 2018. In addition to policy year information, some loss information by accident… [Read more]
New NCCI Study Compares Utilization of Physician Services in Workers Comp and Group Health
Boca Raton, FL – NCCI recently released a new Insights research brief that taps into data from employer-sponsored group health (GH) programs as a source of information that might be critical to maintaining a viable workers’ compensation benefit delivery system. Employing several advances in methodology and data analysis, the paper continues and extends a series… [Read more]
The Conference Board Survey: As Workplaces Reopen, 42% of Workers Fear Getting COVID
New York, NY – As the Delta variant continues to proliferate, 42 percent of workers are worried about returning to the workplace for fear of contracting COVID-19. This marks a substantial jump from June 2021 when only 24 percent had that concern. “With headlines about the rise of the Delta variant, breakthrough cases among the… [Read more]
HEMIC Rated A (Excellent) with Stable Outlook by AM Best
Honolulu, HI – AM Best recently affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) for Hawai`i Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company, Inc. (HEMIC). The outlook of the Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance in Hawai`i has maintained an A rating from… [Read more]
WCRI Study Examines Outcomes for Manual Therapy for Non-Chronic Low Back Pain
Cambridge, MA – Workers with low back pain (LBP) who received manual therapy (MT) early within two weeks of their physical therapy care (PT) had lower medical costs and fewer days away from work than those who received it later, according to a new study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). manual therapy is… [Read more]
Best’s Special Report: Federal Terrorism Backstop Still Providing Stability to US Insurance Markets
Oldwick, NJ -(BusinessWire)- The federal insurance backstop created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks continues to be successful in its goal of stabilizing the U.S. insurance market; although, according to a new AM Best report, some questions remain given evolving economic and market conditions and the absence of a true test. The Best’s Special… [Read more]
CWCI Report Examines CA Workers’ Comp COVID-19 Death Claim Trends
Oakland, CA – The number of California workers’ compensation death claims more than doubled last year as the pandemic resulted in 866 COVID death claims, bringing the total number of job-related death claims for the year to 1,563, up from 748 in 2019 according to a new California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) analysis. The analysis… [Read more]