Our assistance as Work Comp Advisors has just resulted in major savings by one of our clients.

What originated as a $79,422.70 additional final audit billing has been successfully protested and reversed resulting in a $4,317.30 premium return.

This is a total difference of $83,740 and took three weeks to resolve.

Our client now has a ready response the next time someone asks “What has your agent done for you lately?”

Please contact me if you could use some assistance with a workers comp audit problem.

Mark O'Bryan, CWCA PWCA CISC
Commercial Insurance
mobryan@vanbeurden.com
Los Osos • (805) 503-4735
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Here’s a very interesting and relevant question answered by HR Attorney Pamela Fyfe of Nonprofit Insurance Alliance Group at http://www.blueavocado.org/content/can-employees-smoke-medical-marijuana-work .

Mark O'Bryan, CWCA PWCA CISC
Commercial Insurance
mobryan@vanbeurden.com
Los Osos • (805) 503-4735
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The fact of the matter is, there is much confusion regarding the status of who actually is an independent contractor.

Despite rumors that the economy is slowly, very slowly rebounding, government entities nationally are in fiscal holes:

• The Obama administration estimates that there is up to $2.7 billion+ in unpaid Social Security, unemployment insurance and income taxes from employers and workers.
• The IRS has added 200 employment tax auditors and is reviewing its employer guidelines.
• The U. S Department of Labor is calling for 250 more Wage and Hour investigators.

The writing is on the wall. Because the Fair Labor Standards Act, judicial and regulatory decisions and IRS rules are vague and unclear could this not be construed an opportunity for additional revenues? Can state agencies be far behind as well as workers’ compensation carriers? This will happen with a national environment where one in five workers is considered an independent contractor, self-employed, free agent, freelancer, consultant, etc. With payroll cost savings up to one-third for this type of relationship, many employers consider this option.

Through Van Beurden’s Work Comp Navigator program, we provide appropriate resources for employers to review Independent Contractor status.

Establishing as much clarity as possible is essential to avoid costly additional premiums in workers’ comp as well as various fines, penalties and assessments from other regulatory agencies. Working with trained auditors — and performing audits myself — for years, I can unequivocally state it is always best to “be prepared.”

Van Beurden recommends that all employers considering or already involved in Independent Contractor relationships visit this issue with their labor attorney before something happens. We can provide referrals to established labor attorneys located throughout the United States.

Please contact me with your comments or questions. If you would like additional information, let me know.

Thank you for you interest in my blog.

Mark O'Bryan, CWCA PWCA CISC
Commercial Insurance
mobryan@vanbeurden.com
Los Osos • (805) 503-4735
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The California Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau will not include estimated payrolls in an experience modification (ex mod) calculation. If a final audit is late the Bureau will process the worksheet without the payroll data for that policy period however they will include the claims.  Obviously this will wreak havoc on an ex mod depending upon the amount of actual payroll and claims developed.

Today’s example involves a client who put off the audit until a few months before their renewal.  The ex mod data (called unit statistical reports)  must be submitted by the carriers usually within seven months after expiration of the preceding policy.  Through our Work Comp Navigator program, one step is to identify or estimate the ex mod and check it when the actual calculation is done.  In this case the late final audit facilitated a 2010/11 ex mod that omitted all of the 2008/09 payroll data causing a 28 point increase!

Fortunately our Navigator  process allows us to catch and remediate this. In this case it means almost a $30,000 reduction in the client’s renewal premium!  A more expedient final audit would have eliminated this potential disaster.  I sometimes wonder how much money is overpaid in California workers compensation premiums due to situations like this that are not caught and personally would not rely on the Bureau or carrier simply due to the volume each processes.

Your comments, insights or questions are very welcome!

Mark O'Bryan, CWCA PWCA CISC
Commercial Insurance
mobryan@vanbeurden.com
Los Osos • (805) 503-4735
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On March 1st 2010 Cal-OSHA will mail assessments to employers with experience modifications of 125% or more as of 12/31/2009. Payment is due in 30 days or turned over to the State Franchise Tax Board for collection. The amount of the assessment is determined by the annual payroll generated in the last period. For FAQ’s including assessment amounts please check out https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/ticffaq.html . The cap was raised from $2,500 to $10,000 in mid 2008. There are a significant number of ex mod miscalculations due to claims and/or audit that can be reversed. If you would like to review your ex mod and workers comp program please contact me.

Mark O'Bryan, CWCA PWCA CISC
Commercial Insurance
mobryan@vanbeurden.com
Los Osos • (805) 503-4735
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Happy New Year!

This is my first blog post and am looking forward to the new experience.

My work history includes the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California and three insurance carriers prior to twenty years with Van Beurden Insurance Services.   The background, training and operational endeavors I have experienced has provided an exceptional platform, as an agent/advocate/consultant, to assist clients in navigating the workers compensation system and managing their comp costs.  Client savings in audits, claims and experience modifications have been significant.  Trust, confidence and communication is earned by producing results.  Are you satisfied with yours?  Thank you!

Mark O'Bryan, CWCA PWCA CISC
Commercial Insurance
mobryan@vanbeurden.com
Los Osos • (805) 503-4735
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