Friday, July 30, 2010 - Parker, Smith & Feek
Latest FAQs on Healthcare Reform. Click here to read the PDF.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Summary
The IRS, DOL and HHS (The Agencies) have jointly released regulations (The Regulations) regarding the preventive care coverage requirements contained in The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA). The Regulations, which will be published in the Federal Register on July 19th, define the preventive health services that a health plan must provide coverage for with no cost-sharing requirements such as a copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles. The rules do not apply to grandfathered health plans.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The story you are about to read is fictitious and intended to illustrate scenarios that we see in reality every day. The setting could be any city, state or region where medium-sized clothing, specialty food or mercantile retailers operate.
Friday, June 25, 2010
The healthcare reform legislation passed in late March is a voluminous far-reaching law. At more than 2,000 pages in length, we have all been inundated with information. Now with midterm elections approaching, we will undoubtedly hear much more, with many Republicans calling for repeal and the President and many Democrats trying to ease concerns by touting the more popular outcomes of the overhaul.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
You can’t attend a Human Resource, Marketing, or Legal conference these days without a discussion on social media. My wife and I have toddler age twin boys, and I relate social media for employers to organic chocolate milk… It's organic, has milk, and the brand we purchase even advertises DHA and Omega 3’s! Did I mention it was milk? Truth is we limit the boys to one glass a week and they get plenty of exercise (running away from mom and dad). Similarly, social media for your organization is probably a good idea, but it’s important to put some policies and procedures in place and be consistent in your enforcement.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
With the desire for more advanced and innovative construction project delivery methods, industry initiatives like integrated project delivery, LEEDS, BIM, PPP and other similar movements, and the increasing demand that owners require of contractors to deliver a project faster and cheaper, contractors of all types, shapes and sizes face professional liability exposure. These exposures range from vicarious liability from design or architectural/engineering services to scheduling/sequencing errors to mismanagement of subcontractors or the construction process. These exposures can easily cripple a construction firm and create unwanted liability with devastating results.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
On Monday, June 14th the IRS, DOL, and HHS jointly released interim final rules regarding health reform grandfathered plan status. Some of the rules contained in the Affordable Care Act do not apply to grandfathered plans so employers have been waiting to find out what kind of changes can be made to a plan and still retain its grandfathered status. The rules will be published in the Federal Register on June 17th. The rules contain a few surprises and still leave a large question unanswered.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
At least annually, you need to ask yourself, and your insurance agent or broker, is your personal insurance program is keeping pace with your personal net worth and the activities you engage in.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA or the Act) governs wage and hour employment matters for employees engaged in interstate commerce. The scope of the Act is broadly interpreted, making most employers subject to the FLSA. Further, state laws provide additional wage and hour regulations. One of the biggest areas of dispute surrounds the exemptions to the Act, notably the “white-collar” overtime exemptions for professional, executive, administrative and computer employees.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
The purpose of a truly effective risk management program is to identify those exposures that your company faces and then utilize some form of risk transfer (avoidance, risk retention, insurance) to address that risk. The area of Pollution Legal Liability is one exposure that many property owners overlook when structuring a risk management program.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
The life cycle of a closely held business can be compared to that of your typical family home. When you are considering the purchase of a home you analyze location, price, size, current mortgage rates and the overall appeal of the home. You have a title search done, radon and termite inspections, and some local authority walks through to make sure the home is structurally sound. The day before you move in the house is immaculate and there are few, if any, apparent problems.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
On Friday, the House passed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213) that would require 401(k) fee disclosures, provide relief for pension funds and extend unemployment benefits.
However, the planned extension of the COBRA premium subsidy was omitted prior to voting to gain additional support for passage.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Foodborne Illness – What’s at risk?
Accurate diagnosis is sometimes difficult, but it has been estimated that somewhere between 24 to 81 million foodborne illnesses occur each year, resulting in more than 10,000 foodborne-associated deaths with the consequential costs ranging anywhere from $7.7 to $23 billion.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Last Monday the Obama Administration issued interim rules allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans until age 26. The coverage requirement, effective starting with renewals of October 1, 2010 or later, is one of the most anticipated early benefits of President Obama's new health care law.
Monday, April 05, 2010
After more than a year of often rancorous debate, it appears that the healthcare reform battle in Congress is over. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23rd, and later in the week Congress sent to the President a set of revisions which he signed today, March 30th. Although most aspects of reform will not be effective for a few years, there are many which will be effective within six months after the enactment date. The following is a timeline of the major provisions to give you an idea how the new law will impact you and your employees.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
On March 21, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed major health care reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The legislation was previously passed by the U.S. Senate in December 2009 and is set to be signed by President Obama as soon as possible.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
By Ed Chapin, Vice President
A construction contract will almost certainly specify who will supply the Builder’s Risk Insurance coverage for any construction project. This could be the projects owner, general contractor or sub-contractor.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
By Jim Waskom, Vice President
One of the most frequently asked questions we hear from clients is “how much earthquake coverage do I need?” Many factors typically go into the decision when trying to decide how much coverage to buy. By answering the following key questions it should help to simplify the decision-making process:
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
By Jim Gregson, Account Executive
When health insurance premiums continue to increase at a rate in excess of general inflation or wage increases, many employers ask us whether self-insuring their health plan makes sense for them. Self-insuring is certainly a popular option. Surveys show that more than 50% of employees covered by employer-sponsored health plans are covered by self-insured plans. There is also no question that self-insuring, also referred to as self- funding, can save money in many cases; but the decision to self-fund should not be made arbitrarily as there is additional complexity and risk that should be considered before making the jump. The purpose of this article is to provide a basic education so that you can begin to assess whether self-funding makes sense for your plan.
Friday, March 05, 2010
By Lynne Seville, Vice President
Many employers struggle with how to effectively manage workers’ compensation claim costs and loss of employee productivity when an employee suffers a prolonged absence from work due to an on-the-job injury. Transitional Duty Programs (TDPs) (often called modified or light duty) are a key component of claims cost management and employee recovery in most cases.
Monday, March 01, 2010
When asked to participate on a nonprofit board; typically; the first reaction is to be flattered that someone would want our participation and the second reaction is to agree because it meets a personal or professional goal. After agreeing to sit on the board of an organization you may find that you did not learn everything about the organization and/or board interaction prior to joining their board. There are some steps you can take in advance of joining the board that will be helpful in determining if the organization is a good fit for you and vice versa, including attending a board meeting, meeting with the Executive Director and understanding what your role will be as board member, and asking to review minutes from prior meetings a well as the organization’s mission statement and strategic plan.
Monday, February 22, 2010
By Steven Brown, Vice President
Few CEOs, CFOs or risk managers are able to appropriately respond to this question from their Board of Directors unless the facility has previously suffered such a loss. While we have all heard the news stories of large banks, credit card companies, or credit agencies that have had breaches of their security affecting hundreds of thousands of customers. Similar breaches occur regularly at healthcare facilities across the nation. Obviously, sensitive financial information of patients and/or employees is at risk but a healthcare facility has the additional exposure associated with maintaining the health record confidentiality of its patients.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By Susan Stead, Account Executive
Property owners face a growing dilemma as to how they should provide accurate replacement cost values to their insurance company when market values are declining. Logically, it doesn’t make sense that the cost to rebuild your building has increased this year given the state of the economy over the past fifteen months, especially with the reduction in construction costs and decline in land values. What many owners do not consider are the fixed costs of supplies that are not decreasing.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
By Susan Stead, Principal
In the last year the world has seen unprecedented economic issues and depending on the economist or forecaster the country is either starting to rebound or just getting ready for the next wave of commercial property foreclosures. Within the United States office buildings, shopping centers and residential neighborhoods with either partial or complete vacancies have been in existence for some time. The Puget Sound region is starting to feel the impact of this crisis and see formerly stable tenants default on their lease and shut their doors.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - Credit Union Times
By Cliff Rudolph, Account Executive
A criminal indictment announced last week charged three people with the largest hacking and identity-theft case in history. In addition, 30 civil lawsuits have been filed against one of the hacked companies, Heartland Payment Systems. These suits were filed by financial institutions, consumers and investors. More than 650 institutions were affected by the breach.
Monday, August 10, 2009
By Walt Isler, Account Executive
In these current economic times, with stiff competition for work, cost cutting is a top priority for contractors. One of the areas that many companies will look at to save costs is their insurance. However, caution is needed because imprudent cost cutting with your insurance could lead to gaps in coverage or having coverage placed with financially questionable insurance companies.
The following ideas can be helpful hints to save costs and still manage risk without endangering your company:
Thursday, July 09, 2009
By Cliff Rudolph, Account Executive
The FDIC expects more bank failures as the financial crisis continues. On May 27th the FDIC released the Quarterly Banking Profile that represents a report card of the industry status and performance. It concluded that FDIC insured institutions reported a net income of $7.6 Billion in the first quarter of 2009, representing a significant recovery from the $32.1 Billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2008. However, this is 60.8% lower than the first quarter of 2008, a year in which we saw a decline of $32.7 Billion. The fourth quarter of 2008 represented the first quarterly loss since 1990. One third of all insured institutions were not profitable in the fourth quarter of 2008, and overall earnings were outweighed by sizeable losses at a number of large banks. Furthermore, during the first quarter of 2009, twenty-one financial institutions failed; the highest quarterly total since 1992.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
By Cliff Rudolph, Account Executive
Euler Hermes recently forecasted an increase of 35% in corporate worldwide insolvencies for 2009, after an increase of more than 27% in 2008. With the continued economic downturn organizations are increasingly inquiring about Trade Credit Insurance, sometimes referred to as Accounts Receivables Insurance. Lenders are quickly beginning to require Trade Credit Insurance placements when using accounts receivables as collateral and organizations are left scrambling to find coverage. And as the market for Trade Credit Insurance constricts, it is more important than ever to make sure you understand what a Trade Credit policy insures and how it works.
Monday, June 15, 2009
By Cliff Rudolph. Account Executive
In many of the world’s leading danger zones -- Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia -- the kidnapping of North American executives for ransom has long been a growth industry. Today, as the age of corporate globalization collides with international terrorism, U.S. companies are expanding their risks as rapidly as they broaden their reach.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
By Jim Gregson, Account Executive
Employers are looking at overhead expenses. At a number that routinely equates to 15 percent of payroll, medical and dental insurance make up a significant expense, with the cost going up dramatically and often without warning.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
By Sharon Hall, Vice President
The recent outbreak of the H1N1 (swine) flu virus has led many of us to question the potential impact a pandemic event would have on our employees and business operations. Human nature often causes people to overlook risks that have never turned into loss-causing events. And while it may seem that the worst case scenario may not occur with this influenza outbreak, it provides a great opportunity to develop or fine tune your pandemic flu disaster plans. Public health officials remain concerned about the re-emergence of a more severe strain of H1N1 in conjunction with the fall influenza season.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
By Scott Fisher, Principal
To say we live in uncertain and volatile economic times is an understatement. We are likely in one of the biggest, deepest recessions we will see in our lifetime. Unemployment is high and rising. Prestigious and respected financial institutions have failed, and the Federal government has passed a stimulus bill of epic proportions to ensure our economy does not fall into financial chaos.
So now is a good time to ask: What is your surety thinking?
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
By Susan Stead, Vice President
Things are changing quickly in today’s economic environment including the cost of posting Letters of Credit to meet various obligations. Traditionally a Letter of Credit has been a more competitive option than obtaining a Surety Bond. With these changes in the economic environment over the last six months, Surety Bonds have become a more viable option and in some cases, frees up cash associated with a traditional Letter of Credit.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
By Marty Bask, Principal
The good news for employers is that their Workers’ Compensation premium is one of the most manageable insurance costs they face due to the direct relationship between the claims an employer incurs and the cost of their insurance. Preventing injuries and mitigating the cost of the claims that do occur can dramatically reduce an employers’ cost of Workers’ Compensation insurance.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
By Susan Stead, Vice President
As a building developer/owner you invest a lot of money in building a LEED certified project. Has your broker discussed the potential gaps in a traditional property insurance policy versus a policy enhanced to include the ‘green’ endorsement now offered by many carriers?
Friday, October 31, 2008 - 306k PDF
By Sharon L. Hall BSN MPH ARM
VP, Healthcare Risk Management
Even though current financial markets are in a state of flux, and floods and hurricanes have recently wreaked havoc on Midwestern and Southern Communities, the insurance industry is still flush with capacity. Therefore, the soft insurance market continues, and rates are at some of the lowest seen in years.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
By Susan Stead, Vice President
With the recent turmoil in the financial markets, including challenges faced by various insurance companies, we are receiving a lot of questions about carrier stability and how their performance is being monitored by outside regulatory agencies. The AM Best Company was founded in 1899 and is the oldest and most widely recognized rating agency dedicated to the insurance industry. Within our industry AM Best is considered one of the main barometers of the financial strength for insurance companies and is inclusive of all lines of business. In addition to tracking the domestic insurance market, AM Best also monitors the status of many international carriers.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
By Cliff Rudolph
In today’s data age, almost all organizations store some form of private or confidential information, whether it is employees, customers, or information obtained from vendors. Since 2005 more than 200 million records containing sensitive personal information have been reported in a security breach in the United States.
Major banks, media companies, credit bureaus and many sizable local organizations have reported data breaches. Some examples include:
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 23k PDF
40% of Washington’s twenty-five Largest Private Companies as identified by the Puget Sound Business Journal rely on Parker, Smith & Feek to provide some of their insurance needs.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Expectations and Reality
The Hanukkah Eve Wind Storm of 2006 was a perfect example of the force of nature exceeding anyone’s expectations. Between December 14 and December 15 of 2006, hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall in Western Washington, Oregon and British Columbia caused $400 million in damage and left nearly 1.8 million residences and businesses without power. Fifteen deaths were attributable to the storm. It was considered the worst storm to hit the Pacific Northwest in nearly 14 years. It is estimated that only half of the losses caused by the storm were insured.
Friday, August 01, 2008
By John Schmidt, Account Executive
The recent magnitude 5.4 quake in Southern California may have been moderate in severity and caused minimal damage, but it certainly rattled our memory that we too live in a seismically active area. Most of us remember exactly where we were when the Nisqually quake hit. Personally, I remember rocking and rolling on the 23rd floor of a downtown Seattle high-rise and rushing to pick up my 3 year old son from daycare who upon my arrival happily asked me…..why was the ground dancing? But do we remember how our earthquake insurance was structured and if/how it responded to our magnitude 6.8 event back in late February of 2001? Do we know if our current policy(ies) will stand up tall should another event hit our region?
Friday, December 14, 2007 - Puget Sound Business Journal
An often overlooked part of "green building" is the impact of construction on human health and the environment during the course of a project. Today, land developers, property owners, and construction companies are increasingly realizing the health, environmental and energy security benefits of using cleaner-burning biodiesel in construction equipment.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
You probably already know that the world of insurance produces some interesting situations and possibilities. Unfortunately, your backhoe won’t become a Porsche overnight, but the definition of what constitutes an auto - for insurance purposes – is changing!
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