At the 2016 ACE conference, a panel discussed the importance of the verdict sheet in civil litigation. The panel was: Darryl Wilson -Anderson, Crawley & Burke, Plc Alan Yacoubian – Johnson, Yacoubian & Paysse Howard Shafer – Shafer Glazer, LLP Rocky Feemster – Touchstone Bernays Broderick Young – Arnett, Draper & Hagood Evan Jones – Landrum & Shouse, LLP There are significant differences between the states when it comes to how they view issues like comparative negligence, joint and several liability, and contributory negligence. It is important to fully understand these differences so that the verdict sheet can focus on
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At the 2016 WCIRB Conference a panel discussed some of the geographic variations in costs seen in the California workers’ compensation system. This was a compendium of a variety studies done by WCIRB and CWCI. California has significant differences in wage levels and occupations by geographic area in the state. There are also variations in the unemployment rate as areas outside the LA Basin and Bay Area have significantly lower unemployment rates. Outside of the major cities, the main industry is agriculture. Claim costs in the LA Basin are significantly higher than the rest of the state. This was illustrated
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At the WCIRB California Annual Conference, Chief Actuary Dave Bellusci presented their update on the California workers’ compensation system. 2015 was the sixth consecutive year of $1 billion premium growth in California. This is expected to flatten or decrease slightly in 2016 because of lower rates. In 2015 California accounted for 29% of the total countrywide workers’ compensation premiums. The premium growth the last two years has been mostly due to payroll growth. In 2012 and 2013 most of the premium growth was due to rate increases. The top 5 carriers in California write 42% of the premiums. 70% is
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Utilizing a captive is often considered the highest form of self-insurance, but is it right for your entity? There are many reasons for a public entity to consider forming a captive, and just as many reasons not to form one. This session walked through the evaluation process and provided practical knowledge on how to analyze whether forming a captive is a good fit. This PRIMA 2016 session was presented by Victoria Nolan, Risk and Benefits Manager, Clean Water Services. A captive is a formalized self‐insurance program that operates as an insurance company to its parent, collecting premiums and paying claims,
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Workers’ compensation costs throughout the U.S. have increased by 8-10% over the past few years. This may be attributed to an increase in medical costs and wages, which in turn raises the indemnity payouts. There are two ways to decrease these costs: (1) have fewer injuries and (2) improve management of the injuries when they occur. In this session at the PRIMA 2016 Annual Conference, Helaine Rumaner, CSP, ARM, Director of Risk Management, Houston, TX, explored some of the injury prevention programs one municipality in Texas has begun to implement and strategies to increase management of injuries in order to
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At the 2016 PRIMA Annual Conference, Richard Spiers from Genesis Management and Insurance services discussed the decision process on whether to take claims to trial or pursue settlement. Why trial? Sometimes a trial is your only alternative due to excessively large demands, unclear and unproven facts that sound bad, or damages that are larger than anticipated. Uncooperative showboating attorneys also can result in taking things to trial unnecessarily as they are trying to make a name for themselves. Why settle? Sometimes settlement makes the best economic sense as the settlement can be significantly less than the trial costs or trial
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The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the business landscape and promises to do the same for our urban centers. Internet-connected sensors and video cameras providing real-time data on traffic patterns, air and noise pollution, energy resources and parking issues are already helping cities design solutions for a cleaner, more efficient and sustainable lifestyle. These technologies also create new business models that can help to reduce risk and increase funding capacity for urban development and projects. The panel speakers for this 2016 PRIMA session were: Karim Al-Khafaji, Alliance Director, Sensity Systems; Guneet Bedi, VP, Business Development, Relayr; and Javier Martinez,
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The speakers in this PRIMA 2016 session were Ben Eggert, Esq., Wiley Rein, LLP; Gerard Finley, CPCU, Munich Reinsurance America, Inc.; Sarah Perry, Risk Manager, Columbia, MO and Richard Spiers, CPCU, ARM, Are, VP Claims, Genesis Management and Insurance Services. Drones are quickly becoming a technological innovation employed by public entities and businesses nationwide. While drones are a heavily regulated technology, the risks and exposure are far from certain and change from year to year as the laws and technologies develop constantly. Drone Usage: There are several ways drones are being used within public entities. Police use – for surveillance/photography,
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In this session at the PRIMA 2016 Annual Conference, Regan Rychetsky, ABCP, Director of Enterprise Risk Management and Safety at Texas Health and Human Services Commission, explored effective preparation and response strategies that can be used with active shooter situations. An active shooter acts spontaneously, with little or no warning. The perpetrators are often depressed, angry and suicidal. Their motive is to punish others and negotiations will not work. They are there to kill and be killed. They are not there to come out alive. In addition, the more media coverage that these events receive, the more sensationalized this becomes
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Student travel is often conducted without the same administrative controls as other school activities. Pressures from staff, students and parents as well as existing school traditions make oversight difficult. Overnight trips, foreign trips and service-related travel are becoming more popular and thus there is a need to develop a risk assessment protocol to evaluate proposals and plans for student travel. This PRIMA 2016 session was presented by Robert Bambino, Wright Risk Management, LLC and Michael S. Foulke, Munich Reinsurance America, Inc. Concerns about school and student travel are due to many factors with the biggest being terrorism, civil unrest and
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