In the News
20 Issues to Watch in 2023
Originally Published in Insurance Thought Leadership | January 18, 2023 Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark kicks off the year with our popular 20 Issues to Watch webinar. While there are certainly more than 20 issues to discuss, we focused on the high-impact matters relating to workers’ compensation, healthcare…
10 Ergonomic Strategies to Protect Your Aging Workforce from Injury
Originally Published in PropertyCasualty360 | August 16, 2022 Workers over the age of 55 represent a large and essential segment of the American economy, and their influence is growing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one-in-four U.S. workers will be 55 or older by 2030. During the pandemic,…
Five Steps to Building a Risk Control Plan
Originally Published in the Illinois Municipal League Review | May 2022 It is no secret that the public sector faces a set of unique risks and challenges when it comes to designing a public entity risk control plan, however, certain fundamentals can provide a blueprint to building that plan effectively….
Employer Trends Shaping the Workplace
Originally Published on Insurance Thought Leadership | December 7, 2021 Employers are adjusting their workplaces to accommodate evolving expectations of the workforce and regulatory requirements. How have human resources leaders aligned benefit and HR programs to support new or changing business needs? How are employers addressing the return to the…
Navigating the Vaccine Mandate
Originally Published on Insurance Thought Leadership | November 21, 2021 OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) regarding COVID-19 vaccine mandates leaves employers facing a complex compliance challenge involving both OSHA and laws on accommodation and leave of absence. What exceptions are allowed? How can employers track compliance? How will the courts…
Navigating the Future of Risk Management
Originally Published in PropertyCasualty360 | November 19, 2021 The pandemic and the economy are presenting various challenges for risk management teams across the nation, including difficulties within the insurance marketplace, emerging risks and the challenges associated with changing business operations. The recent virtual conference, Elevate, presented by Out Front Ideas with…
The Bigger Picture of COVID-19 Data
Originally Published on PropertyCasualty360 | November 1, 2021 In February 2021, Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark, hosted its most attended webinar to date, which featured data around COVID-19 claims and provided valuable insight into current trends, claims development and the real impact the pandemic has had on workers’ compensation. At…
State of the Insurance Marketplace
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | October 3, 2021 The insurance marketplace has been changing rapidly, with the economy having a significant impact on both carriers and businesses, including employers, public entities and the middle market. So, what are the implications for the industry? And what risks should organizations…
Managing the Challenges of Civil Unrest
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | July 22, 2021 Over the last year, many communities have faced large riots and protests that destroyed public and private property and resulted in hundreds of injuries. While these events carry a certain amount of unpredictability, an organization’s planning and response to these…
The Perils of the Purchasing Process
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | June 9, 2021 Most public entities and many private companies have switched to a procurement model for all contracts and purchasing. This model means a centralized department is responsible for all these decisions, ranging from office furniture and supplies to purchasing insurance and…
State of Mental Health in the Workplace
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | May 18, 2021 Discussions around the impact of mental health and well-being in the workplace are frequent Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark topics. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so we are offering our thoughts on the current state of mental…
How Social Inflation Affects Liability Costs
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | April 20, 2021 Social inflation is a term you frequently hear in risk management these days. It refers to the phenomenon of a general anti-establishment sentiment that exists publicly today, which has a far-reaching impact on businesses and the insurance industry as a…
Benchmarks, Analytics Post-COVID
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | April 6, 2021 The insurance industry relies heavily on actuarial models and benchmarks to analyze performance and predict future exposures. One of the core assumptions is that most components of the analysis mirror conditions similar to the past. However, the pandemic introduced several…
COVID-19 is NOT an Occupational Disease
Originally published on WorkCompCentral | March 25, 2021 When workers’ compensation was first conceived over 100 years ago, it was designed to cover traumatic injuries in an industrial setting. As workers’ compensation evolved, that coverage expanded in many ways. It was recognized that there were certain diseases or conditions, like…
Claims Development for COVID (Part 2)
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | March 1, 2021 The latest Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark webinar brought together a panel of industry experts to explore trends being seen in COVID-19 claims, as well as long-term medical complications and what risk managers should monitor in the future….
Claims Development for COVID (Part 1)
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | February 24, 2021 The latest Out Front Ideas With Kimberly and Mark webinar brought together a panel of industry experts to explore current trends being seen in COVID-19 claims, as well as long-term medical complications and what risk managers should be monitoring in…
20 Issues to Watch in 2021
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | January 21, 2021 Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark kicks off every year with our popular 20 Issues to Watch webinar. While there are certainly more than 20 issues to discuss after the unprecedented events of 2020, we focused on the high-impact…
Perils of Pandemic Premium Audits
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | January 7, 2021 Because workers’ compensation premiums are usually driven by employer payroll, carriers audit the payroll figures to ensure that the worker classifications are accurate and that the premiums reflect the covered risks. States and the rating bureaus have stringent rules around…
Medicare Set-Asides: Determining the Best Path
Originally published on The CLM | November 16, 2020 Submission of a Medicare Set-Aside (MSA) to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a recommended but voluntary procedure. CMS states there “are no statutory or regulatory provisions requiring that a Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside (WCMSA) proposal be submitted…
State of the Commercial Insurance Marketplace
Originally published on Insurance Thought Leadership | October 28, 2020 In a survey of frequent Out Front Ideas attendees, one of the biggest concerns raised by risk managers was the rapidly evolving insurance marketplace. These challenges started back in 2018, but COVID-19, civil unrest and other events have accelerated this…
How the US is Making Progress on Climate Change
Originally published on InsuranceERM | October 28, 2020 Bill Wilkins, CRO of US specialty re/insurer Safety National, which is part of the Tokio Marine Group, explains why climate risk cannot be solved by the US alone. In an InsuranceERM editorial comment titled How US insurers can make America green again,…
The State of the P&C Insurance Marketplace
Originally published on PC360 | October 21, 2020 In a survey of frequent Out Front Ideas attendees, one of the biggest concerns raised by risk managers was the rapidly evolving insurance marketplace. These challenges started back in 2018, but COVID-19, civil unrest and other events have accelerated this change. At…