Industry News

​No fooling - here's a roundup of the industry news you need but may have missed.April 1, 2021Homeowners becoming more proactive in improvements, repairs​Since the start of the pandemic, more than half of homeowners made improvements to their property, according to Hippo, which noted 71% said they'd continue making the same amount of home improvements moving forward. Are your policyholders updating their coverges accordingly?Will new federal programs help k​eep commercial drivers safe?​If you serve the transportation industry, you must keep an eye on these programs that could impact your trucking risk management this year.Participate in Insurance Journal's Young Agent Survey Today​Insurance Journal is seeking young…

​The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board has announced a rule change that clarifies which operations should and should not be assigned to the marina classifications. The board also made the telecommuter classification more specific. If you provide Workers' Compensation insurance for these types of operations, you may want to inform your clients.The New York Workers' Compensation Manual has two classifications for marinas - code 6826F for employers subject to the U.S. Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Act, and code 6836 for employers who are subject only to the New York Workers' Comp law. The new rules clarify that these classifications apply to employers that have "boat…

​Employers will not face higher Workers' Compensation insurance premiums because of losses related to COVID-19, according to recent announcements by the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board​. The board said that it had received approval from the state Department of Financial Services for a rule change that will exclude from the Merit Rating Plan calculation "all claims attributable to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic​." This follows an earlier move to exclude these claims from the Experience Rating Plan calculation. At the time, the board said, "The occurrence of COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims is unlikely to be a predictor of future claim costs incurred by an employer, and therefore their…