Effective December 10, 2011, insurance companies will make the following changes to adhere to these requirements:

• Insurance carriers will record a claim as “Chargeable – Damage to Property Only” with the surcharge of (1) Good Driver point where:
• The driver is greater than or equal to 51% at fault; and
• No CA-specific fault exemptions apply; and
• Damage is to property only and the damage exceeds $1,000
  Please note: the $1,000 threshold is inclusive of any deductible charges. For example: $500 deductible + $600 collision payout would be considered as chargeable.
• Insurance carriers will record a claim as “Chargeable – Bodily Injury Involved” with the surcharge of (2) Good Driver points in the event that the claim involves bodily injury or death and:
• The driver is greater than or equal to 51% at fault; and
• No CA-specific fault exemptions apply

It is important for consumers to keep any evidence of how a claim was handled in their personal records.  California Department of Motor Vehicle records do not show which party was at fault in an accident.  If you change insurance companies, you may need to prove to your new carrier that an accident was not chargeable.  Keeping a copy of the claims adjustor’s letter can be very helpful.  You should keep this information for a minimum of three years. 

Source:  Safeco Insurance Company

Records of 4.9 mln stolen from car in Texas data breach
Thu, Sep 29 2011
By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) – A massive data breach, in which the personal and medical records of millions of military patients and their families were compromised, happened when the records were stolen out of a data contractor’s car in San Antonio, officials told Reuters on Thursday.

The information for some 4.6 million active and retired military personnel, as well as their families, was on back up-tapes from an electronic health care record used to capture and preserve patient data from 1992 through September 7 of this year, according to Science Applications International Corp (SAIC).
The families used the federal government’s TRICARE health provider. SAIC is the suburban Washington firm that handles military health provider TRICARE’s data.

The tapes went missing on September 14 when they were “among items stolen from an employee’s car in San Antonio,” SAIC spokesman Vernon Guidry told Reuters.  They were in the car, he said, because they were “being transferred from one federal facility to another in compliance with the terms of their contract.”  He said there’s no indication the car thief was after the tapes or even knew what they were. SAIC is working with San Antonio police and a private investigator to recover the tapes, Guidry said.

After announcing the breach on Thursday, SAIC officials scrambled to reassure patients the “risk of harm to patients is judged to be low, despite the data elements involved.”

“Retrieving the data on the tapes would require knowledge of and access to specific hardware and software andknowledge of the system and data structure,” SAIC said in a statement released Thursday.

NO FINANCIAL DATA

TRICARE officials say the data on the tapes include Social Security numbers, addresses and phone numbers, and some personal data such as clinical notes, laboratory tests, and prescriptions. No financial data, such as credit card or bank account information, are on the tapes, officials said.

The SAIC statement said the company withheld information about the breach until Thursday so it could “determine the degree of risk this data loss represented before making notifications” so as “to not raise undue alarm in our beneficiaries.”

Guidry said the data cover 4.9 million patients who received treatment at military hospitals and military treatment facilities in San Antonio. The breach also includes information for patients who may have been receiving treatment at other military medical facilities, but whose laboratory work or other diagnostic work was done at San Antonio hospitals.

Despite the assurance that the risk is low, computer security expert Dwayne Williams, associate director of the Technology Research Group at the University of Texas San Antonio, said patients should take preemptive steps.  “If somebody intentionally went after this data, they are going to have the right hardware and software to read these files,” he said. “This equipment is available and can be purchased on the Internet.

SAIC and TRICARE have set up emergency response centers for patients to call to get help in dealing with the security breach, and help them to place a fraud alert on their credit reports. TRICARE has a total of 9.6 million enrollees worldwide. It is the HMO and medical service provider for America’s active
duty and retired military personnel, their families, military reservists, and some civilian Department of Defense workers.

TRICARE said in the statement that it is working with SAIC to “review current data protection security policies and procedures to prevent similar breaches in the future.” Williams said situations like this are “scary,” but they’re part of modern life.

“If you are a citizen in the modern society, if you have a credit card, if you shop online, if you have information stored, you should anticipate that some day your information will get stolen,” he said.
“Data breaches are getting bigger and more common. You should take steps to protect your identity.”
(Edited by Karen Brooks and Greg McCune)

As I reported here, this is a hot and scary topic.  It’s not easy to fight taxing or employment organizations over whether workers are independent contractors or employees.  It impacts federal income and employment taxes and state taxes too.  Then there’s the U.S. Department of Labor and state counterpart agencies. 

Many states have Departments of Industrial Relations, OSHA agencies, and more.  There are pension and fringe benefit issues, disputes with private parties and insurance companies.  Workers’ compensation is for employees not independent contractors…

For the full article go to:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2011/08/29/winning-independent-contractor-battles/

With so many global catastrophes this year, carriers are getting picky. It’s up to your agent to work to convince a carrier to accept you as a client. You’ll want to be covered by a preferred carrier, if possible, to obtain the best rates, coverages and claim service.

What Carriers Look for:

Construction

• The more damageable the construction type the less desirable the risk. For example, frame buildings are riskier than joisted masonry. Then greater importance is placed on other aspects of the facility’s risk characteristics.
• Underwriters require details about other construction aspects including the age of the buildings, the date of improvements and the general condition of the property. The maximum age tends to run between 20 and 25 years for a newly-submitted complex.
• You’re required to include the month and year of the last updates of the heating, plumbing, roofing and wiring.
• Knowing who is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the facility is within the top concerns. Carriers want to know if a staff member or a subcontractor is responsible. The answer leads to questions of responsiveness, liability and the presence of proper contractual risk transfer provisions.

Occupancy

• Carriers expect an apartment complex to be occupied largely for residential purposes; sometimes a certain percentage is required.
• The presence of subsidized housing is a common concern. Subsidized units beyond a certain percentage may disqualify the risk for some non-standard insurers while others have special programs. CAA Value Insurance Plan has access to a preferred carrier who writes Section 8, subsidized housing and other HUD-sponsored housing unit policies.

Protection

• Underwriters examine the protection aspect of an apartment risk more than anything else. Public protection class (listed as a number, available from your local fire department), the presence of smoke detectors and information regarding the sprinkler system are the three basic protection concerns. Some carriers require a full sprinkler system on any building with more than six floors.
• A written contingency safety plan is especially important for complexes located in high wind areas, coastal areas, earthquake zones and other areas subject to natural or manmade hazards.
• Tenant pre-screening and background checks is required by some underwriters. However, from a protection standpoint, such reviews are useful in protecting a complex from charges of negligence, provided negative reports are acted upon as allowed by law.
• Absentee ownership or management is a major concern for preferred carriers. Some require the complex to be managed and supervised by a full-time resident manager, an on-premises owner or a full-time property management company.

Exposures

• Carriers look at exposure to risks located on the complex and created by the surrounding community.
• Swimming pools, tennis courts, club houses, gyms and other such amenities create concern for underwriters. Underwriters will ask for specifics such as the presence of a diving board or slide if there is a pool; the condition and upkeep of tennis courts and club houses; and the supervision employed for any of these facilities.
• External exposures are also considered. What are the characteristics of the neighborhood? Are there nightclubs and bars? Are there other operations nearby that could cause problems (even a school)? Lastly, what is the crime rate? The external exposure component can also encompass high wind, high risk flood and other hazardous areas.

Now What?

Knowing how your rental property is carefully examined by insurance underwriters may help you make decisions regarding the property. Should you add a pool to stay competitive? Is a fitness center better? What kind of property management company should you hire?

Always let your insurance agent know when you have made changes to your property that may increase the value or lower the risk exposure.

Link to article:  http://caanet.informz.net/admin31/content/template.asp?sid=24781&brandid=3136&uid=760566776&mi=1272130&ptid=383

in Health & Medicine,Politics & Government

It’s been called a “watershed moment” inAmerica’s attitude toward government social programs. The workers’ compensation system provides medical and wage replacement benefits for individuals who get hurt on the job. Workers don’t have to prove their innocence and employers don’t have to defend themselves in court. “We call it the grand compromise. Workers basically gave up their right to sue their employers for injury and employers, on the other hand, agreed that they were going to pay their injured workers for any accident that caused disability and medical costs” regardless of fault.

Gregory Krohm is executive director of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions inMadison. He says the no-fault insurance is the result of a compromise between organized labor and merchants and manufacturers.Wisconsinmade history 100 years ago by enacting the first constitutionally valid worker’s compensation law. “People fromMadison— the University and state government — played a pivotal role, not only in workers compensation but in the invention of unemployment insurance and Social Security. SoWisconsinhas a very distinguished role in social insurance generally.”

Each year inWisconsin, roughly a quarter of a million medical bills are paid and income maintenance checks are sent to over 30,000 workers with newly covered injuries. Krohm says the system is solvent and does not cost taxpayers anything. Claims are made by injured workers and benefits are paid by the employers. Krohm says workers’ compensation is often mistaken for unemployment benefits.

The first constitutional state workers’ compensation law was signed on May 3, 1911 inWisconsin. The first insurance policy to be issued under the new law took effect on September 1, 1911. Eight other states passed similar workers’ compensation laws by the end of 1911. Colleagues from across the nation gathered inMadisonWednesday to commemorate the anniversary at a Workers’ Compensation Centennial Celebration.

Source: WisconsinRadio Network

http://www.wrn.com/2011/08/workers-compensation-celebrates-100-years/

Here’s a list of the top 10 mistakes that may lead to employment lawsuits. Keep in mind that this list will not apply to all employers, as regulations and collective bargaining agreements may override these general rules.

1. Classify all employees as exempt, whether they are or not.
2. Be nice to employees—let them work through lunch so they can take off early.
3. Make everyone an “independent contractor” because having employees is too much trouble.
4. Don’t bother providing training about harassment and discrimination to managers and supervisors. They won’t need the information.
5. Let employees decide what hours and how many they want to work each day.  We have flexible schedules.
6. Terminate any employee who takes a leave of absence, whatever the reason. It is too much trouble to administer leaves of absence, and who knows if the employee will return.
7. Don’t give employees their final check if they fail to return company property.  We can’t afford to take employees to small claims court, so we require that they return all property before they get the last check.
8. Provide loans to employees and deduct the money from their paycheck each pay period.
9. Use non-compete agreements to protect confidential information such as business secrets, customer lists and pricing information, and prevent employees from working for the competition.
10. Implement a “use it or lose it” vacation policy and avoid paying out all that money at termination.

This article is courtesy of CalBiz Central via the American Agents Alliance.  To download the full article please go to: http://www.agentsalliance.com/Top%2010%20Reasons%20Emp%20Sued.pdf

The definition of remuneration for employment purposes includes lodging and reduction to rent.  That means your building manager is an employee and you need to provide necessary coverage, most importantly workers’ compensation.  Workers’ Compensation is calculated based on payroll and so, in this case, it would be based on the dollar value of the rental reduction.  Workers’ compensation coverage is required under California law and there could be serious penalties for being without coverage.

There are other employment issues that could arise.  For instance, in addition to the laws governing tenants’ rights, you need to be concerned about employment practices including discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination.  You need to be compliant with all applicable employment laws.  Employment practices coverage is available and may make sense under certain conditions.  At the very least you should have a relationship with an attorney who can guide you if a dispute should arise.

I recommend that landlords with resident property managers take time to review their coverage as it applies to the resident property manager and make the necessary changes to protect them from workers’ compensation and employment practices claims.

Jerry Becerra, CPCU