In today’s world there is so much emphasis on doing more with less. This obviously has its perks, but it also has a significant negative impact that cannot be overlooked. Employees who are pushed to the max are at risk of being overstressed and ultimately burning out. Burnout reduces productivity and takes a toll on individual’s health.

At the recent American Society of Safety Engineers’ conference there was a chilling message for businesses that employ temporary staff. David Michaels, OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor, raised the issue of workplace fatalities and pointed the finger of blame. He said, “temporary workers are at greater risk of workplace injury and illness than non-temps.” A major factor is a “lack of job information and safety training for temps increasingly employed in dangerous occupations.”

This ‘lack of information and safety training’ contributed to a figure of 14 fatalities of temporary workers on their first day on the job over the past 12 months. That’s a scary figure for employers and temps alike. How does this happen?

Employers should believe that healthier employees are more productive employees. Studies prove this! Emphasizing health AND changing the culture within the workplace to support healthier lifestyles is worth the effort. Any ROI is icing on the cake.

Risk management isn’t limited to operations, finance, or within manufacturing facilities; there are risks to be aware of within physical office buildings and for office workers.

Tripping Hazards

Hunting accidents on vacant land can lead to a number of legal liability concerns. Homeowners with vacant land or farmland with exposures to third-party hunters should take a variety of measures to mitigate their exposure. Thus, consider the following recommendations if you own property with this exposure.

Over the last 40 years, the digital age has dawned, and profoundly changed the modern society. As a business that is concerned about risk management, staying on top of the emerging risks is a necessity, but the mind boggling speed of technological advancement has made this difficult. With a modern business relying so much on technology, it is then imperative that every effort is made to manage the risks of a digital age.

Regardless of your expertise on the water, proper boating safety should be followed every time you hit the water. Be sure to review these boating safety tips with any passengers on board to ensure everyone’s wellbeing as well as reduce any risk to your insurance policy.

The Indiana General Assembly passed and Gov. Pence has signed into law HB 1320, which introduces a fee schedule into Indiana’s workers’ compensation statute. Over 25 states have enacted fee schedule legislation since the mid-1990s to impose a limit or cap on medical reimbursement. Insurers generally favor fee schedules while medical providers generally oppose it. Indiana will now have a schedule set at 200% of Medicare reimbursement levels.

Prior to this passing, Indiana had relied on a “usual and customary” method, which had many pitfalls. Both the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) and theNational Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) have published studies showing how, overall, “usual and customary” states had higher comparable medical costs and higher rates of increases in cost.

The Indiana General Assembly passed and Gov. Pence has signed into law HB 1320, which introduces a fee schedule into Indiana’s workers’ compensation statute. Over 25 states have enacted fee schedule legislation since the mid-1990s to impose a limit or cap on medical reimbursement. Insurers generally favor fee schedules while medical providers generally oppose it. Indiana will now have a schedule set at 200% of Medicare reimbursement levels.

Prior to this passing, Indiana had relied on a “usual and customary” method, which had many pitfalls. Both the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) and theNational Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) have published studies showing how, overall, “usual and customary” states had higher comparable medical costs and higher rates of increases in cost.

1. Insurer investment returns

The financial crisis of 2008 caused insurers to write down their investment portfolios and reallocate seeking higher returns. However, with a prevalence of low-yielding investments, attractive returns were not possible. Furthermore, credit quality impaired insurer’s massive corporate bonds holdings. For insurers with an international footprint there was also the impact of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the drain on surplus caused by 2011 delivering one of the worst worldwide catastrophic loss years on record. Interest rates on 10-year treasury notes have been following a downward trend for over a decade and are now at all-time record lows. Since roughly 80% of the property-casualty industry’s bond/cash investments are in 10-year or shorter durations, most insurer portfolios will have low-yielding bonds for years to come. In addition, the recession reduced demand for workers’ comp (demand = payroll).