Industry News
Construction Industry Faces Challenges Heading into 2021
Author, Sam Clayton, Vice President, Construction Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
As a result of COVID-19’s impact on the overall economy, the construction industry will likely see some strong head winds not only operationally, but also from a risk management and insurance standpoint in 2021.
2021 Insurance Game Plan
Author, Dave Garcia, President, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
As we come to the end of 2020, the most challenging year most of us have ever experienced, where COVID-19, wild fires and other natural disasters took their toll emotionally, physically, mentally and financially on all of us we can only hope for a brighter 2021.
Preparing the Home Care Industry for 2021
Author, Chase Hixson, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services
This past year has brought significant changes to many industries as they navigated the effects of COVID- 19. This article gives an overview of the effects to the home care industry and what employers can do to be better positioned in the marketplace.
6 Steps for California SB1159 COVID-19 Reporting
Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. has developed a six step guide to help employers navigate through the reporting of COVID-19 cases to their insurance carriers per California Senate Bill 1159 (SB 1159). The document will lead you through specific employee scenarios that will determine if you should report the claim.
4 Key Factors in Developing a Motor Vehicle Report Program
Author, Jeremy Hoolihan, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Auto liability is often one of the most substantial risks a business will have. Driver selection is one of the most important evaluations a business can do to prevent accidents. It’s been proven that drivers with a history of moving violations and accidents pose a higher risk for organizations. Best practices for reducing this risk allow only safe drivers to operate a company vehicle.
A Tree Care Company’s Guide to the Annual Workers’ Compensation Audit
Author, Rory Anderson, Account Executive, Tree Care Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
The premium for your workers’ compensation policy is based on the type of work you do, and the amount of payroll incurred. By maintaining proper payroll records, segregating the wages earned by your employees, you may reduce the cost of your workers’ compensation insurance. The final audit is the process that calculates the last premium due. It compares the estimated payrolls to actual wages paid during the policy year. The audit may result in a refund or additional premium due. Workers’ compensation audits also determine if the classification codes quoted at inception accurately reflect the scope of work performed during the policy period. Insurance carriers charge more premium for higher risk operations, like tree trimming.
Get Your Bond Account in Shape for 2021 – A Surety Company Perspective
Author, Matt Gaynor, Director of Surety, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
As we wind down the 2020 year, it is important for our contractor clients and prospects to start planning how the 12/31/2020 fiscal year end financial statement will look. The bond companies will use this information to set your 2021 Bond Credit Line for approval of your projects.
CAL/OSHA Adopts Written COVID-19 Prevention Plan
Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurances Services, Inc.
On November 19, 2020, California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) Standards Board adopted temporary emergency standards to protect workers from COVID-19. These standards are expected to go into effect November 30, 2020, upon approval from the Office of Administrative Law.
Safety Programs Can Reduce Workers’ Compensation Premiums
Author, Daniel Frazee, Executive Vice President, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
As California business owners continue incurring costs as they work their way through the maze of ever-changing COVID-19 regulations and protocols, prioritizing critical elements of your internal safety program can directly lower your insurance costs. Refocusing on key areas below will help present an effective, detailed submission to the marketplace that will lead to talking points with an underwriter for schedule credits and ultimately, lower rates and premiums.
Risk Management and the Virtual Workforce
Author, Sam Brown, Vice President, Human Services Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
As American employers navigate the Coronavirus Pandemic, many business leaders quickly adapted to a virtual office and virtual workforce. While many organizations anxiously wait for the day employees can all safely head into the office Monday through Friday, employers must adjust risk management practices to account for the virtual workforce.
New Hires Pose Hidden Exposure
Author, Casey Craig, Account Executive, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Hiring is never an easy task, especially during a pandemic. Dealing with COVID-19 has made finding the right employees much more difficult for many business owners in the construction industry. Now is the perfect time to evaluate your hiring practices to ensure you don’t make a costly hiring mistakes that can affect your Experience Modification Rate (XMOD) and workers’ compensation premium long after the pandemic has passed.
CA Anti-Harassment Training Deadline Quickly Approaches
Author, Alyssa Burley, Media Communications and Client Services Manager, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Lately, we've been getting a lot of questions about California's required anti-harassment training, who has to complete it, when it's due, and how much it costs. This article will clear up any confusion; covering the history of the requirement, training conditions and deadlines, and the online training offered to Rancho Mesa clients.
COVID-19 Workers Comp Surcharge Coming to California
Author, Sam Clayton, Vice President, Construction Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Adding frustration to the growing concerns for businesses dealing with COVID-19, the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) has recommended California employers pay a COVID-19 surcharge on their 2021 workers’ compensation policies.
Early Warning Signs of COVID’s Impact on Surety
Author, Andy Roberts, Account Executive, Surety Department, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
The COVID-19 pandemic will have many long and short term effects on the surety industry. While the long term effects might not be known for years, some short term changes are already occurring. Early on, we have witnessed bond companies start to tighten their underwriting guidelines, and now we are seeing an increase in General Contractors (GC) requiring performance and payment bonds from their subcontractors.
California’s Workers’ Compensation Landscape May Reach a Valley in Coming Year
Author, Drew Garcia, Vice President of the Landscape Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
The workers’ compensation market for landscape companies in California has remained in a downward trend since 2015. As a result, landscape business owners have realized lower rates and subsequently aggressive premiums. The following are some key insights to help landscape businesses prepare for their 2021 workers’ compensation insurance renewal.
AB 685 Creates New Notice and Reporting Requirements
Author, Sam Brown, Vice President of the Human Services Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services Inc.
On September 17th, 2020 Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 1159 (SB 1159) and Assembly Bill 685 (AB 685), both COVID-19 related bills. Both pieces of legislation will impact how employers respond to incidents of COVID-19 infections. This article will help business owners understand AB 685’s heightened occupational health and safety rules. Employers also need to understand how AB 685 grants California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) greater enforcement powers.
Safe Cloud Computing for Contractors
Author, Drew Garcia, Vice President, Landscape Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many construction companies were utilizing some form of cloud-based systems to effectively streamline business operations and increase accessibility of information. While hosting sensitive data in the cloud has many benefits like shared access to data, applications and storage, there are some risks contractors should take into account before relinquishing their data to the cloud.
SB 1159 Is Now Workers’ Compensation Law
Author, Dave Garcia, President, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
As expected, California Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1159 (SB 1159) into law Thursday, September 17, 2020 and it will have several impacts on workers’ compensation and the presumption of the claim. Below is an outline of some of the more important elements of SB 1159. In simple terms, just remember three numbers, 4/4/14 - I’ll explain, later.
Excess/Umbrella Rates Experiencing Alarming Price Jump
Author, Sam Clayton, Vice President of the Construction Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
As if the 2020 business landscape has not already been challenging enough, a hard market for excess/umbrella is occurring at a concerning rate, resulting in rising premiums, limited capacity and a restriction in terms and conditions.
Bond Companies Thoroughly Track Status of Construction Projects
Author, Matt Gaynor, Director of Surety, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
When the bond company approves a performance and payment bond for our contractor clients, they want to keep track of the project until completion - at which time the liability for the bond is no longer on their books. One tool they use to track a construction project is the Work In Progress Report (WIP) which the bonding company analyzes on a quarterly or six-month basis to track the profitability of the project on a percentage of completion basis. When the bond company sees that a project is 100% complete on the WIP or Completed Contract Report, they will mark the bond file as “closed,” once the warranty period has expired.