Insurance People of North Carolina

INSURED - Trucking Company SITUATION - High rate and large number of employee injuries – $800,000 premium ASSESSMENT - No return-to-work program. Analyzed claims and showed employer the true cost of the insurance company paying indemnity to injured employees. SOLUTION - After reviewing the return-to-work options, the trucking company decided to no longer outsource its security guard function, but make it a “transitional duty” job. Injured workers sit in the booth and collect paper work from incoming trucks. Another light duty job involves scanning the bar codes of boxes as they pass on a conveyor belt. By putting a chair…

INSURED - The business is a local hauler that handles towing risks. It has 25 employees and does approximately $1.5 million per year in business. SITUATION - Following an audit of the insured’s Workers’ Comp policy, the company was charged an additional premium of $46,000. The company paid the first installment of the additional premium – $26,000 – and was now being called upon to make the second installment of $20,000. ASSESSMENT - A CWCA who has been working with the insured for a number of years reviewed his client’s coverage and performed his own audit of the policy. He…

INSURED - A large multi-state owner/developer of residential and commercial property.  SITUATION - The company was using a large insurance agency/broker who was having difficulty managing the company’s claims in a multi-state environment. This complexity requires expertise as well as the time and resources to provide an adequate service level. Unable to get a handle on the Mod credits, the Experience Mod was beginning to climb.  ASSESSMENT - CWCAs conducted an analysis and discovered numerous errors in the reporting of the data to the various state rating boards that were not being closely monitored. The company signed a BOR agreement…

INSURED - This printing company employs 85-90 people and has revenues estimated at $15 million. SITUATION - The employer was witnessing an increase in its Experience Mod and annual premiums. ASSESSMENT - The employer became increasingly dissatisfied with their current carrier because they felt their audits were incorrect. Recognizing the need to have an expert review of the audit, the employer turned to CWCAs. The CWCAs discovered that not only were employees misclassified, but the business itself was misclassified. They also had a higher than average number of injuries despite a formal safety program that even met state certification and…

INSURED - The insured is a residential plumbing contractor with 265 employees. SITUATION - The company was in a transitional stage causing a higher-than-average claims activity. The result was a large number of open claims that included indemnity and an Experience Mod of .98 and rising. ASSESSMENT - CWCAs reviewed the situation and realized that the Experience Mod was being driven up not only by the number of claims, but also by the number of malingering claims that were not successfully closed. In fact, because there was no injury management process in place, 80% of the lingering claims included indemnity.…

INSURED - The insured is a large oil company making deliveries to area businesses, including five convenient stores/service stations that it owns. The company has 40 employees and estimated annual revenues in excess of $50 million. SITUATION - Following an audit, the insurance company attempted to charge the company for higher job classifications even though the number of employees nor the type of work had not changed. ASSESSMENT - CWCAs reviewed all audit worksheets. After a careful review and discussion of the situation with the head of the company, it was determined that there were two employees who had been…

INSURED - A conglomerate of associated companies with several locations within one state. SITUATION - Over the course of five years, the company purchased multiple related companies. Numerous errors were made when combining the loss experience. Some were never combined with the parent and were issued their own rating, while others had multiple payroll and claims history reporting errors. This resulted in multiple Experience Modification errors, totaling $329,000. It was determined that the insurance broker was in over his head and it was necessary to hire an outside consultant to untangle the mess. The decentralization of management and operational practices…

INSURED - A metal fabricator with 26 employees that manufactures metal sign-holders for various retailers. SITUATION - With no history of carpel tunnel issues, the insured experienced a rash of carpel tunnel injuries unexpectedly, with two in excess of $80,000. This drove the company’s Experience Mod up to 1.72 and resulted in the policy being canceled by their Workers’ Comp carrier. ASSESSMENT - The first claim was a legitimate case and the employee required medical attention and physical rehabilitation. The following claims occurred so rapidly that they were deemed questionable. There was also no clear language in place in the…

INSURED - A midsize masonry contractor. SITUATION - The masonry contractor was using a PEO (Professional Employer Organization) and was concerned what it was paying for Workers’ Comp was higher than that of its competitors. It was difficult for them to determine their rate because the payroll taxes, Workers’ Comp and additional fees were combined. ASSESSMENT - CWCAs analyzed the PEO invoice and broke out the payroll taxes, fees and Workers’ Comp costs. It turned out that Workers’ Comp came to $59,000 a year. Payroll data and loss information was requested and the Experience Mod was calculated at .95. SOLUTION…

INSURED - This major landscape contractor servicing commercial properties employs 120 people and does $1.9 million in annual revenues. SITUATION - A year after purchasing the company, the insured was concerned why, as a relatively new business, its Experience Mod was extremely high at 1.39, with annual premiums in excess of $400,000. ASSESSMENT - Certified WorkComp Advisors conducted a complete needs analysis on the company, running the gamut from human resources to claims filing. The insured was unaware of how the system worked in regards to ownership changes and it was discovered that the insured had actually inherited the previous…