Industry News
The Impact of Claim Frequency and Severity on a Landscape Company’s Experience MODs
Author, Drew Garcia, Vice President, Landscape Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
The experience modification rate (ExMod or MOD) is a measure produced by insurance rating bureaus to summarize a company’s claim history versus their industry peers. A rating generated below 1.00 is considered a credit to the workers’ compensation policy while a number above 1.00 is a debit. The ExMod has a direct impact on the cost of workers’ compensation insurance.
Foreign Voluntary Workers’ Compensation: Closing the Coverage Gap for Cross-Border Teams
Author, Sam Brown, Vice President, Human Services Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
In San Diego County, with its diverse workforce and cross border business activities, employers increasingly consider hiring talent from nearby Tijuana or have employees travel into Mexico for business purposes. In other scenarios, American employees decide to move and work remotely from Mexico or commit to a daily commute into the US.
Beyond Blood Sugar: How Diabetes Impacts Workers’ Compensation Claims
Author, Kevin Howard, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
November is National Diabetes month and a chance to pause and think about prevention, early detection, and long-term care. For companies, it is also a reminder that chronic health conditions can quietly influence safety, mental health, work performance and even workers’ compensation exposures.
Signs of Future Increased Costs in Workers’ Compensation Continue
Author, Kevin Howard, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Senator Anna M. Caballero recently introduced Senate Bill 555 (SB 555), also known as the Workers’ Disability Adjustment Act. While the bill is currently stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee, SB 555 could, if signed into law, increase weekly Permanent Disability (PD) benefits for injured workers in the California workers’ compensation system, adjusting these annually to reflect economic inflation through a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
Key Dates that Will Define California’s Workers’ Compensation 2025 Rates
Author, Kevin Howard, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
In California, September 2025 will be a pivotal month for the state’s workers’ compensation marketplace. With inflated post-Covid-19 payrolls still affecting premiums, both the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) and California’s Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara have been working to establish appropriate pure premium rates that are reasonable for both insurance carriers and employers.
Employer’s Guide to Handling Cumulative Trauma Claims
Author, Casey Craig, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
A growing thorn in employers’ sides has been the rise of worker’s compensation cumulative trauma (CT) claims. Cumulative trauma refers to the ongoing psychological and physical injuries that accumulate over time, often resulting from repetitive stress or exposure to adverse conditions. Employees missing time can lead to larger workers’ compensation claims, lower moral and less efficiency. It can be easy as an employer to take a defensive stance and fight every one of these but there are a few factors that need to be taken into consideration prior to deciding if you should settle or challenge these claims.
Cracking the Code: Deciphering the Primary Threshold’s Impact
Author, Greg Garcia, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Every business owner understands the correlation between their Experience MOD (XMOD) and what they will pay in workers’ compensation premiums. When the XMOD increases, there is a good chance that the workers’ compensation rates or premiums will rise as well. This is why it is so crucial to really hone in on company safety procedures to limit work-related injuries as much as possible. The reality is that even the safest company that does everything the right way is going to run into a workers’ compensation claim from time to time.
What Does the Employer Do After a Work Injury?
Author, Jim Malone, Workers’ Compensation Claims Advocate, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
A work related injury can be a very traumatic event for the injured worker, but also for their co-workers, employer, family and friends. Some injuries occur from a specific event when everybody knows the injury occurred. Other times, incidents occur during the work day, or repeatedly over time, where the employee needs to report these incidents, accidents or developing symptoms to his supervisor, manager, or human resource manager according to company protocol.
Employers Beware! Ten Red Flags You May Have a Fraudulent Workers’ Comp Claim
Author, Jeremy Hoolihan, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Workers’ Compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue their employer for the tort of negligence.
How To Lower Your Experience MOD by Understanding Your Primary Threshold
Author, Drew Garcia, NALP Program Director, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
The Experience Modifier (i.e., experience MOD, MOD, XMOD, experience modification rating, EMR) weighs heavy on the calculation of your workers' compensation premium. With a MOD rating of 1.00 signifying unity (i.e., the average for your industry), any MOD above 1.00 is considered adverse. Thus, any MOD below 1.00 is considered better than average. Higher MODs will debit the premium, resulting in higher workers' compensation premiums, while lower MODs will credit the premium, resulting in lower workers' compensation premiums.
Ask the Expert: Insurance Questions from the Lawn and Landscape Industry
Author, Drew Garcia, NALP National Program Director, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Drew Garcia answers common insurance questions for the landscape industry.
California Workers Compensation 2018 Annual Officer Payrolls Minimums and Maximums, Assessment Rates, and Dual Wage Thresholds Announced by WCIRB
ICW Group Insurance Company, the largest group of privately held insurance companies domiciled in California, recently released an announcement that outlines the details and is attached for your review.
3 Topics to Discuss with Vendors, Independent Contractors, and Partner Agencies Prior to Working Together
Author, Chase Hixson, Account Executive, Human Services, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Recently, a non-profit client of mine asked the question: What are the steps I should take with vendors, contracted professionals and partner agencies to make sure my organization is protected should a claim arise as a result of their work? This is a common exposure to many of our clients, and there are several steps that can be taken to protect your business.
5 Steps to Avoiding Workers’ Compensation Claim Litigation
Author, Jeremy Hoolihan, CRIS, Janitorial Group Leader, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Workers’ Compensation claims can cost a company time, money, employee productivity, and morale. Litigation is one of the most costly results of a workers’ compensation claim. Once an employee hires an attorney, the time and money it takes for the claim to close drastically increases.
Control your Experience MOD through the MOD Doctor Process.
Author, Drew Garcia, NALP Program Director, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Successfully maintaining low and predictable workers' compensation costs is a product of establishing a routine that constantly “checks and balances” your all-encompassing insurance program. Our "MOD Doctor" technique lays out a road map so we can guide you throughout the year to gain more control, become more efficient, and ultimately drive down your insurance cost; at no extra expense. What can you expect from this process?
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists Coverage - Are Your Limits Adequate? - Be Careful!
Author, David J. Garcia, A.A.I., CRIS, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Earlier in the year, we published the article "Commercial Auto Premiums Are Rising - What’s Driving the Increases?," which addresses how insurance companies are all experiencing adverse loss experience within their commercial automobile books of business. The result of these mounting losses is causing a dramatic rise in commercial Auto premiums for most policyholders.
Timely Claim Reporting Lowers Work Comp Claims Costs and Improves Your Bottom Line
Author, David J. Garcia, A.A.I., CRIS, President, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Studies have shown, by reporting your workers compensation claims in a timely basis, not only will your injured employee receive better medical treatment, it will boost company morale. Both the injured worker, as well as other employees, will see your sincere concern for their wellbeing. In addition, timely reporting practices will also improve your risk profile through reducing the overall cost of the claim, which leads to lower loss ratios and lower experience modifiers, thus, resulting in lower premiums and improvement in your bottom line.
NALP Launches New Discounted Workers' Compensation Insurance Program
The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) is partnering with Rancho Mesa Insurance Services and Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies to offer NALP members a competitive workers’ compensation option backed by specialized landscape industry expertise and a dedicated service team.
Closing the "Gaps in Coverage" When Using Temporary or Leased Labor
Author, Dave Garcia, AAI, CRIS, is the President and CEO of Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
It has become more common for construction companies to use temporary or leased labor in order to meet the demands of their work. While this is a useful tool it can create some unintended gaps in coverage for the contractor hiring the temporary or leased labor. These gaps potentially exist for on-the-job injury claims suffered by the temporary or leased workers.
4 Factors That Shape Your Insurance Risk Profile
Author, Drew Garcia, with Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, is the program director for NALP’s Worker’s Compensation Program.
Ever wonder why your insurance rates high when your competitors are low? There are reasons for that including, frequency of claims, severity of claims, experience rating, average claim cost incurred, operations, trends, loss ratio etc. If you evaluate your risk profile you can take action to lower your premiums.