R&R Insurance Blog

On May 4, 2017, members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines to pass an amended version of the American Health Care Act - proposed legislation to repeal and replace the ACA. The AHCA will now move on to be considered by the Senate.

ACA Provisions Not Impacted

The majority of the ACA would not be affected by the AHCA. The MacArthur amendments specifically maintain most of the ACA’s market reforms. For example, the following key ACA provisions would remain in place:

• Cost-sharing limits on essential health benefits (EHBs) for non-grandfathered plans (currently $7,150 for self-only coverage and $14,300 for family coverage)
• Prohibition on lifetime and annual limits for EHBs
• Requirements to cover pre-existing conditions
• Coverage for adult children up to age 26
• Guaranteed availability and renewability of coverage
• Nondiscrimination rules (on the basis of race, nationality, disability, age or sex)
• Prohibition on health status underwriting

Click here to download the ACA Compliance Bulletin - which provides an overview of the proposed legislation and its potential impact going forward.

 

Do you have employees who travel during their workday? Do you fully understand their exposures? Is it clear when they are driving within the course and scope of employment?

Many of you have heard of the Ninedorf vs. Joyal case, which took place in Wisconsin in 2014. To summarize the case: Mr. Ninedorf and Mr. Joyal worked for a beverage distributor. One Friday afternoon, a customer requested an order from Mr. Joyal and the two men left to deliver the beer together. After the delivery was complete, they stayed at the location for multiple drinks and proceeded to visit several other bars in a nearby town. While Mr. Joyal was driving the two men home, they were involved in an accident which left Mr. Ninedorf paralyzed.

The Circuit Court granted summary judgment to Mr. Joyal’s personal automobile insurer on the basis that the exclusive remedy rule applied - because Mr. Ninedorf was within the course of employment at the time of the injury. Multiple maps confirmed the city where the men were last drinking was a rational place to travel between the delivery and returning home. They continued their trip home along a reasonable route and were deemed to be back in the course of employment.

While there are various opinions regarding the outcome of this case, the court ruled the men had returned to the course of employment due to the route they were traveling and therefore, despite intoxication, workers’ compensation benefit are the exclusive remedy.

This case is just one example of the exposures of traveling employees. For questions regarding potential risks of your employees, contact a knowledge broker at R&R Insurance.

There are two significant trends with today’s modern work force:

1. Employees are working longer and retiring at a later age
2. Each day, there are over 10,000 Americans reaching age 65 and becoming eligible for Medicare

At R&R Insurance Services we continue to provide our Medicare counseling services to the employees and dependents of our clients to understand their insurance options. All too often an employee overlooks their Medicare eligibility if they elect to work beyond age 65. However, this may not be their best insurance option when you factor in their cost of insurance (employee contribution) and the plan deductible. 

With most employers embracing a high deductible health plan, employees or dependents of employees who reach age 65 can exercise their option to enroll into Medicare and waive the employer’s group medical plan. Often the cost to elect Medicare Part B and a corresponding private supplement or Advantage plan can result in a medical plan with a $0 deductible and lower direct premium costs.

Our health insurance experts are ready to help you with your needs. Click here to meet our team. 

An accident happens with company vehicles on the road.  Step 1 is to call the insurance company.  Out on the road there are various exposures, each being covered under their own line of coverage.  With multiple coverages comes multiple claims adjusters.  With everyone working on their own timelines, offers are often slow to come in, and quite frankly, creates communication hurdles. 

In one particular case, damage was done to:

1. Auto physical damage to truck chassis and trailer
2. Inland Marine items - on- and in- the truck

Noticing the lack of central communication point,  R&R stepped in.  Meeting with each of the adjusters, three approaches were discussed how to evaluate the ACV (Actual Cash Value) of the damaged items:

1. Market approach
2. Straight-line depreciation
3. Broad evidence rule

Each situation will dictate the best evaluation method. In analyzing the various offers from the insurance company's adjusters, and looking at the client's equipment value, R&R was able to recover an additional $78,000+ for our client compared to the original offer from the carrier!

Lessons learned?

1. Determine best method for equipment valuation
2. Identify all equipment, including smaller items, with name & serial number
3. Document where equipment is bought
4. Utilize equipment appraisals that may already be on file for bonding & line of credit purposes
   
   • Especially important for custom built equipment - see www.machinerytrader.com as an example
5. Have an independent agent facilitate negotiations

Having a KnowledgeBroker working on your behalf will guide you through complicated claims and ensure you're receiving every dollar you deserve.  Want a second look at a claim?  Shoot us an email: safety@rrins.com.

 

According to a study, 81% of large employers and 49% of small employers offer wellness programs to their employees. Aimed to improve employees’ overall well-being, these programs are often centered around weight loss, smoking cessation, and walking.

Why is it important to promote wellness in the workplace?

Wellness affects your company’s bottom line in many ways—in particular, it can lower health care costs, increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and raise employee morale.

Employees with health risk factors, such as being overweight or smoking, can directly impact insurance costs.  In turn, those employees will pay more for health care than employees with fewer risk factors. Wellness can help employees with high risk factors make the lifestyle changes to improve their quality of life and reduce their health care costs, while also helping employees with fewer risk factors stay healthy. 

What are the benefits of a wellness program?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) promotes the formation of workplace wellness programs because, according to one of its studies, employees in companies with “a strong culture of health” are three times more likely to actively strive to improve their health.

In addition, wellness programs have shown to directly:

• Control health insurance costs
• Reduce Workers’ Compensation and disability costs
• Increase employee productivity and absenteeism
• Enhance morale and improve recruiting

Read more about the value a wellness program can provide on your organization and how to lower your insurance costs, or contact Shay Sherfinski.

In CNA Insurance's 2016 "Claim Report", they recap the statistics behind dental claims for the year.  Below are a few that stuck out to me - all the more reason that we make sure your Practice is properly covered. 

1. The average indemnity paid  for general practitioners was $83,120
2. The average indemnity payment for specialists was $125,651; excluding oral surgeons the average was $98,626
3. The top 4 procedures associated with claims are root canals, surgical extractions, surgical placement of implants and crowns
4. 23% of closed claims allege treatment failure, resulting in a total paid indemnity of $17,892,090
5. Dentists who participated in the risk management education programs had claim costs 20% below the overall average.

As you become eligible for Medicare, you have options for your health insurance coverage. R&R Insurance has an Individual Health Insurance Department that can help you determine which plan would be best for you. The months leading up to your Medicare eligibility can be particularly overwhelming as many insurance companies will begin sending you mailings about the plans that they offer.

We are lucky to have four talented Individual Health Insurance experts located at different offices.

• Terry Frett - Waukesha
• Dianne Ogorzalek - Oconomowoc
• Donna Wahl - Menomonee Falls
• Liz Johnson - Waukesha

There are several parts of Medicare that can be difficult to understand and certain timelines you need to be aware of to avoid future financial penalties.  Our team can help you with:

• Understanding the “Alphabet Soup” of Medicare
• Reviewing your option of enrolling into Medicare or remaining on your employer’s plan
• Explaining the difference between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans
• Evaluating your Medicare Part D (prescription drug) coverage options
• Understanding your requirement to enroll in Medicare Part B if you work for a small employer

If you would like to evaluate your Medicare options, or know someone who does, contact us for a complimentary consultation.

On April 6, 2017 the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a delay in enforcement of the crystalline silica standard that applies to the construction industry in order to conduct additional outreach and provide educational materials and guidance for employers.

The agency has determined that additional guidance is necessary due to the unique nature of the requirements in the construction standard. Originally scheduled to begin June 23, 2017, enforcement will now begin Sept. 23, 2017.

OSHA expects employers in the construction industry to continue to take steps either to come into compliance with the new permissible exposure limit, or to implement specific dust controls for certain operations as provided in Table 1 of the standard. Table 1 matches common construction tasks with dust control methods, so employers know exactly what they need to do to limit worker exposures to silica.

Construction employers should also continue to prepare to implement the standard’s other requirements, including exposure assessment, medical surveillance and employee training.

For more information, visit www.osha.gov or contact a Knowledgebroker.

The growing network of internet connected devices are continuously changing the way we live and work. Nowadays it is not surprising to find computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data via the internet.

To efficiently manage interior operations and decrease costs, many new constructions are now "smart" buildings in which the building's systems such as room temperature, ventilation, HVAC controls, and security systems are connected to an external network. However, with these new capabilities come a new set of threats and opportunities for hacking. This smart building equipment can be used as "backdoors" for hackers to break into the system, giving them access to confidential information. This is especially dangerous for energy
producers, health care providers, high-tech manufacturers, and government agencies. A hospital, for instance, could take a serious financial hit if a hacker were to shut down an HVAC system in an operating room. Even worse, patients could be endangered.

Although people understand the need for all-around cyber security, a large number of buildings and companies are still exposed. Reasons for this could be that cyber threats to building-control systems have not gotten as much media attention as other related risks, such as massive data breaches. Others simply may not be aware that this threat exists for a functionality as simple and ordinary as controlling room temperature.

For additional reading on this topic, click here to view an article written by The Daily Reporter.

To learn more about cyber threats and how to keep your business secure, contact Carla Borda with any cyber questions.

 

You have a small business, your company doesn’t own any automobiles, and no one drives for their job… you don’t need any auto policy, right? Wrong! 

Do you or your employees occasionally visit a customer?  Do you drop items off at the bank, even on the way home?  What about go out for a company lunch?  Rent a car to drive to a seminar or trade show? Then you might want to consider Hired/Non-owned Automobile coverage. 

Hired/Non-owned Auto coverage is auto liability coverage for your business when your employees are driving on work-related matters.  In the event there is an accident, defending your company in case of a lawsuit. This coverage comes in to play when there is a vehicle being driven by you or an employee that is Hired (i.e. rental cars) or Non-owned (by the company).  So if an employee is driving his or her own vehicle to attend a trade show, there would be liability coverage to protect the business.  

This reasonably inexpensive coverage can be added to most general liability policies. Contact R&R Insurance for more information.