Broker Chat

Broker Chat invites our broker community to share with their peers their experience with State Fund. This new segment, which we hope to run throughout the year in Broker Update Online, will serve as a platform where brokers and employers can speak candidly about their business relationship with us.

Meet Jeff Dodds, Managing Member, and Christine Courtney, Workers’ Compensation Marketing Manager for TWIW Insurance Services, LLC. TWIW has been in business since 1923 and is experienced in every facet of the insurance industry, from commercial and personal lines to employee benefits and investment services. With a staff of 170 employees in Ventura, Santa Maria, and Bakersfield, TWIW ranks as the 74th largest independent insurance broker in the U.S.

BUO: What State Fund services do you find easy to use and make doing business with us more convenient? 
Christine: Certainly, State Fund Online provides easy access to policy information which is really handy and user friendly. The tools available for claim status, loss control and safety play a crucial and valuable role in the work we do daily.
Jeff: I concur. The depth of State Fund’s loss control services is virtually unmatched, at least for middle-market to high middle-market accounts. State Fund still sees the benefit of loss prevention activity. Easily accessible claim data—along with detailed safety information—is at the agents’ fingertips, which is great. I’m also excited that State Fund is now a facility for out-of-state coverage, which will make some of our multi-state placements easier. So we will be watching for that capability to rollout.

BUO: Tell us about your most recent customer service contact with State Fund.
Christine: That would be Tammy Givan, Sr. Underwriter and Janice Mills, Assistant Underwriting Manger, both from the Monterey Park office. They went to bat to help keep a long-term and large-premium client with State Fund informed and happy.

BUO: In conducting your workers’ comp business with State Fund, which online feature do you find easy to use?
Christine: As I mentioned earlier, it has to be your loss runs and claim status platforms which are extremely helpful and certainly, in my book, are top of the line.
  
BUO: We value your business and look for areas to best serve your needs. How can we improve your State Fund experience? 
Christine: For starters, new business submissions can certainly use some help. It takes so much time for this process to happen in order to get a simple quote. The clearing system gets held up. For example, we sent a Broker of Record followed by the submission and after nearly a week it still had not been cleared. The online quoting system could be easier, especially when entering loss data. It's not an easy flow and sometimes you can’t upload larger attachments.

BUO: Being familiar with all the changes happening at State Fund, what do you think are going to be two or three critical components to our success? 
Christine: Pricing and quick quote options with ability to bind online ASAP. That’s number one.
Jeff: Christine nailed it, but my outlook embraces other facets and products, that if improved, will play a crucial role in State Fund’s service, and I’ll name them:

1. State Fund ratcheted down physical space and a sizeable part of its staff around the time the market began to firm up. The market is going to come State Fund's way and we feel it's critical that it be ready to handle the expected workload directly impacting underwriting, loss control and claims. With the expected contraction in the market, there is plenty of production opportunity for State Fund. But it needs to be prepared to handle the work and the quotes; if not, those opportunities are lost.
2. Allowing agents the ability to quote and issue policies, online, at least for certain classes and risks. There will be increased opportunity to write an account with little turn-around time for any carrier who has the systems to support the process.
3. Multi-tiered pricing will hopefully enable State Fund to compete with those accounts that in recent years were not at arm’s reach.
4. Bringing back the dividend, at least for the time being, will allow the State Fund agent to focus on a subject which has been outside the typical workers’ comp discussion, at least in the last fifteen years.

I think I gave you more than you asked, but I think it’s important that State Fund listen to the folks on the frontlines. We all want State Fund to succeed.

BUO: How will the suggestions you proposed translate for you and the rest of the broker community?
Christine: It’s simple. It will make it easier to place business with State Fund.
Jeff: What's crucial at this point is that agents be reassured that they have continued confidence that State Fund can handle the workflow coming its way, especially in light of the cutbacks on facilities and staff. 

[Top]

Brokers Can Now Issue Certificates

It has been a long time coming, but this marks a first in State Fund history. We are pleased to announce that effective September 1, 2012 brokers will be authorized to issue ACORD 25 certificates of insurance for their State Fund-insured clients. 

You may start issuing certificates on ACORD 25 forms for new business placed with State Fund prior to September 1, 2012. We will continue to automatically issue State Fund certificates for policies with renewal dates through August 31, 2012. 

After September 1, 2012, State Fund will no longer issue certificates of insurance for brokered policies. Your ability to issue ACORD certificates for your clients saves time and is a useful tool in servicing your customers.

[Top]

Interim Billing Rolls Out. Payroll Reporting to Change for Your Clients

State Fund began issuing mid-term (interim) payroll reports to many of your clients. Reports were issued in subsequent order based on policy inception date. Policies that incepted on January 1, 2012 received a mid-term payroll report on or after June 7, 2012. Policies with an inception date of January 2, 2012 received a mid-term payroll report on or after June 8, 2012.

Please advise your clients to complete and return the mid-term payroll report to State Fund by the indicated due date or risk policy cancellation. Your clients should not calculate premium or remit payment with this new report. If policyholders have a registered Stete Fund Online (SFO) account and are enrolled in ePayroll, they will receive an electronic interim payroll report via e-mail.

For more information about this new procedure, visit our Customer Support pages. If you have additional questions, please contact your State Fund Marketing Representative or call 888-STATEFUND.

[Top]

Workers' Compensation Forum Recap

The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) recently held nine public forums up and down the state to hear recommended solutions to problems in the workers’ compensation system. DIR Director Christine Baker and Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) Administrative Director Rosa Moran hosted the forums and topics of discussion included:

• Provision of appropriate medical treatment without unnecessary delay
• Medical provider networks (MPN)
• Utilization review (UR) 
• Enabling injured workers to return to work as quickly as medically feasible
• Adequate compensation for permanent disabilities
• Reducing the burden of liens on the system
• Identification of appropriate fee schedules
• Reducing unnecessary litigation costs
• Assessing appropriate use of opiates and other care

State Fund provided testimony during one of the forums identifying three areas in critical need of reform and offering recommendations:

1. Fair and reasonable benefits for injured workers by way of a more consistent and predictable permanent disability evaluation process.
2. Substantially fewer costs in areas that add expense and complexity but don’t add value for the injured worker.
3. A focus on functional recovery and return to independence.

These recommendations were reiterated by our CEO, Tom Rowe, in his five-part blog series on the ‘gathering storm’ in workers’ compensation and can help ensure that we as an industry are providing a high and consistent standard of care to injured workers while reducing inefficiencies and the likelihood of costly litigation.

[Top]

AB 469 Requires Employers to Provide New Written Notice to Employees

Changes to the California Wage Theft Protection Act now require that employers provide newly hired hourly, non-exempt employees written notice spelling out specific wage information that includes:

• The rate of pay and the basis-whether hourly, salary, piece commission, or otherwise-including any overtime rate.
• Allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage, including meal and lodging allowances. 
• The regular pay day designated by the employer. 
• The name of the employer, including any DBA (doing business as) names.
• The physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business and any mailing address, if different.
• The telephone number of the employer.
• The name, address, and telephone number of the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier.

Notify your clients of these important changes. In fact, printed material on this topic is now available at the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). The agency has available templates employers may use to provide the new notice information in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment information to employees. DLSE has also published Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Wage Theft Protection Act of 2011.

[Top]

State Fund Loss Control Document Retrieval Made Easier

As a reminder to you and your clients, State Fund has made it easier to quickly obtain loss runs and loss analysis reports. The process is now electronic only—we no longer print and mail these documents. Digital access allows instant retrieval of loss history information to help you expedite your quote submissions.

Accessing documents through State Fund Online also has a positive impact on the environment. Each year, requests for loss analysis reports caused an estimated use of 400,000–500,000 sheets of paper. By eliminating the need for this amount of paper, 37,000 pounds of lumber and 240,000 gallons of water are saved.

Please visit State Fund Online to access your clients’ loss runs and loss analysis reports. By request, State Fund staff can also send you these documents electronically.

[Top]

Check Out Our CEO Blog and LinkedIn Pages

We encourage you to visit State Fund CEO Tom Rowe’s blog at statefundcablog.com. There, Tom shares his thoughts about key issues facing California and the workers’ compensation market, and about what we are doing here at State Fund. You and your colleagues can join in the conversation and share your insights by commenting on any specific topic.

Another way you can actively engage with us is through LinkedIn. We post links to pertinent news and information several times a week.

[Top]