TRIA Passes, Awaits Obama’s Autograph
TRIA passes — after a retiring Senator put the kibosh on reauthorizing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act as part of the Cromnibus bill last month. Thankfully, a new Congress reauthorized the federal terrorism coverage backstop yesterday. The bill, which demonstrated bipartisan support by a vote of 93 to 4, now awaits President Barack Obama’s signature. The “Terrorism Risk […]
Cyber Coverage and the Actuarial Challenge
Major cyber attacks are almost becoming the flavor of the month. Sony, JP Morgan, the Home Depot, the U.S. Postal Service, the Target Corporation — the list goes on and on. If there is anything more challenging than preventing cyber attacks, it is figuring out how to cover the growing risk. As I cover in […]
TRIA Reauthorization Bill Dies Due to One Retiring Republican Senator
The U.S. Senate adjourned yesterday without passing the bill that would reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which is set to expire December 31st. In other words, TRIA will not be passed this year. And I am shocked. The general anticipation in Comp Land was that TRIA would pass but with more financial burden on […]
Doctors More Likely to Dispense Unnecessary, Stronger Opioids For Profit
When doctors prescribe strong opioids to injured workers, the assumption is the workers need them. But when Florida banned physicians from selling strong opioids to injured workers, this did not translate into more scripts for pharmacies to fill. Instead, doctors distributed weaker pain medications, according to a Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) study, The Impact […]
TRIA Re-Authorization Could Be in Jeopardy
Update 12/10/2014 5:12 p.m.: House passes TRIA by 417-7 votes. Total support from Democrats; 7 nays from Republicans. It’s off to the Senate…. With Congress having 21 days to re-authorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), passage has been stalled and removed from cromnibus budget negotiations, putting the program at risk. Some fear the move could jeopardize […]
Yeah! Employers Are Keeping Employee Health Care Coverage
Most organizations are continuing to offer health care coverage for their employees, according to a survey by Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) released last month. It’s obviously a good sign for employees who fear finding insurance as individuals through state exchange programs (ObamaCare). Those of us who have […]
Let’s Get TRIA Passed Before Holiday Recess
Congress has 43 days — that’s six weeks from tomorrow — to pass a re-extension to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). If Congress does not pass the re-extension, a couple things happen. 1) Since terrorism risk is very expensive and difficult to predict, insurers will likely to raise premiums or back out of the […]
Eliminating Physician Drug Selling is a Workers’ Comp Necessity
Physician-dispensed drug prices in Connecticut dropped about 30 percent, yet stayed 30 to 60 percent higher than pharmacy prices, according to study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) announced today. This study points to a nagging issue in workers’ comp. That is, doctors in many workers’ compensation systems are able to make significant profits selling […]
How Insurers Determine Your Auto Insurance Premium
While spending the past two decades as a business writer covering the insurance market, I finally got a chance to share what I have learned about auto insurance with a new audience — consumers. My article, How Insurers Determine Your Auto Insurance Premium, was written to explain the major factors that drive (no pun intended!) auto insurance […]
In Social Media, You Are What You Post
Maintaining privacy is not easy these days, but national security document leaker Edward Snowden is here to help. In a recent interview, Snowden warns those who really care about their privacy should quit using services like Dropbox, Facebook and Google because the information might not be as secure as you would like to believe. But […]
