Industry News
What To Do When Your X-MOD is over 125
Author, Drew Garcia, Landscape Division Leader, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
If your Experience MOD (i.e., X-MOD, Ex Mod) is over 125, expect to receive a letter from the California Occupational Safety & Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) Consultation Branch. If you haven't received the letter, yet, you can be proactive and reach out to OSHA Consultation. Although it sounds intimidating, keep in mind, OSHA Consultation is only there to help you.
Case Study: First-Time Bonding for Landscape Professional
Author, Matt Gaynor, Director of Surety, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
I recently had the opportunity to work with a new client who is a landscape professional. He wanted to bid on a maintenance project for a local municipality and wasn’t sure if he would qualify for the required performance bond.
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.
Risk Management Center Streamlines Electronic OSHA Reporting
Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) now require certain employers to electronically submit their completed 2016 Form 300A. OSHA has created a website that allows employers to manually complete the information or upload a formatted CSV (comma-separated values) file
Federal OSHA Asserts Electronic Data Reporting Requirement Applies to Employers Across All States
Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced Monday, April 30, 2018 it has “taken action to correct an error that was made with regard to implementing the final rule” which required some employers to electronically submit their injuring and illness reports via the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) online.
Benefits of a Student/Volunteer Accident Policy
Author, Chase Hixson, Account Executive, Human Services Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Organizations like nonprofits, schools, home health care facilities and other entities that rely on volunteers or frequently interact with the public, may be vulnerable to accidents not covered by workers' compensation insurance. These accidents can cause an unexpected financial burden on the organization if they don't have an accident policy.
The Changing Definition of Employee: What you need to know about SB 189
Author, Yvonne Gallagher, Landscape Division Account Manager, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
California State Capital Building.
State Bill 189 (SB 189) (Bradford) was recently enacted by the California State Legislature. It is intended to correct issues resulting from the passage of Assembly Bill 2883 (AB 2883) (Daly et. al) in 2017, which changed the requirements for business owners to exclude themselves from workers' compensation coverage.
Workplace Violence Insurance Surges in Aftermath of Shootings
Author, Sam Brown, Vice President, Human Services Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
In response to the hundreds of mass shootings taking place each year, the insurance marketplace has produced new workplace violence products to help employers and employees recover from a crisis.
The Rising Risk of Metal Theft from Jobsites
Author, Kevin Howard, Account Executive, Construction Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Metal theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country. Copper, aluminum, nickel, stainless steel and scrap iron have become the desired target of thieves looking to make a quick buck.
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.
Why All Trade Contractors Must Consider Pollution Liability
Authors Sam Clayton, ARM, CRIS, Vice President, Construction Group and Daniel Frazee, ARM, CRIS, Executive Vice President, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Contractor’s Pollution Liability (CPL), once viewed as expensive and unnecessary, has now become an integral part of every trade and environmental contractor’s insurance program. The industry is seeing requirements for this coverage from a combination of building owners, developers and general contractors for projects of all sizes.
The Hidden Gems in the OSHA Silica Regulation
Author, Glenn Ingraham, MS CIH.
If you’re complying with the OSHA Silica Standard for Construction by following the requirements in Table 1, then congratulations! You’re doing well. But do you know about the two little hidden gems in the standard? Those two requirements are connected to the use of respirators in Table 1.
3 Practical Reasons for Timely Claims Reporting
Author, Jim Malone, Claims Advocate, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
When a work-related accident occurs, as a business owner or manager, it is our nature to want to analyze the situation in order to learn how to avoid it in the future. However, the reporting of the incident is equally as important. With the recent requirement to report first aid claims, timely reporting for all claims is recognized as being critical for a number of reasons.
Simple Steps to Developing a Personal Protective Equipment Program
Author, Jeremy Hoolihan, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
In the workplace, employees can be exposed to potentially harmful hazards. Identifying these hazards and using precautionary measures such as personal protective equipment (PPE) can mean the difference between a safe jobsite and an injury.
Berkshire Hathaway's Steve Hamilton Discusses Workplace Injury Trends for the Landscape Industry in Recent Webinar
Author, Drew Garcia, NALP Program Director, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
In this webinar, Steve Hamilton, Senior Loss Control Specialist from Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies, reviews workplace injury trends for the landscape industry, along with OSHA’s most cited regulatory violations.
Top Three Benefits of Conducting an In-Home Health Care Safety Inspection
Author, Chase Hixson, Account Executive, Human Services, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
For many Home Health Care companies, conducting an in-home inspection on all new cases is standard practice. The intent of these inspections is to improve the quality of services offered; however, there is also an additional opportunity to improve the risk profile for those health care companies and thereby help them reduce their insurance costs.
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.
Reminder: 2017 OSHA Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illness Must Be Posted
Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
According to a recent memo, the State of California Department of Industrial Relations would like to remind employers that they are required to physically post their 2017 annual summaries of work-related injuries from February 1, 2018 through April 30, 2018.
Why Would a Contractor Purchase Employment Practices Liability Insurance?
Author, Kevin Howard, CRIS, Account Executive, Construction Gorup, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Insurance is often considered a necessary evil by business owners. It can represent a significant line item on a profit & loss statement rivaling the cost in some cases of payroll, material costs and rent. With deductibles that can range from $15,000-$25,000 per claim, why then would a business spend dollars on an insurance policy that is not required by either state law or part of any General Contractor’s insurance specifications?
The Number 1 Reason a CPA Reviewed Financial Statement Can Benefit a Contractor
Author, Matt Gaynor, Director of Surety Bonding, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
One of the key documents required when we are assembling the Bonding Programs for our construction clients is a fiscal year-end financial statement prepared by an outside Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Although we monitor internal financial information from our contractors throughout the year, at the fiscal year-end (usually 12/31), the bond company will require that the statement come from a third party CPA. That way, they have some certainty that the information has been prepared by an independent financial source that has a background in working on contractor financial statements.