The trucking industry crisis that began over a decade ago has intensified into a full-blown workforce emergency. With an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 driver shortage in 2025 and projections suggesting it could exceed 100,000 within a few years, the backbone of America's economy is under unprecedented strain. (Updated 1-16-2026)
Showing posts with label Premiums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Premiums. Show all posts
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Thursday, October 30, 2025
New Jersey 2026 Rate Relief
Understanding the Latest Workers' Compensation Changes and Second Injury Fund Adjustments
The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance has approved significant changes to workers' compensation rates effective January 1, 2026, bringing mixed news for employers across the Garden State. While overall rates are decreasing, the Second Injury Fund contribution has increased notably, impacting the bottom line.
Monday, January 25, 2021
"Made in America" Will Impact Workers' Compensation Nationally
Today, President Biden signed the Executive order, Made in America.” The effort to move manufacturing jobs back to the United States will have a major impact going forward for the entire workers' compensation system. This initiative will expand the workforce and expand the potential of a major increase in workers' compensation benefits through increased wages/rates and premiums paid for coverage and all related cottage industries involved in the social insurance program.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Consequences of Increasing the Minimum Wage
The national wave toward raising the statutory minimum wage to $15.00/hour is going to have major consequences for the ailing national network of workers' compensation programs. Not only is it going to increase benefits for injured workers that are calculated on wages, but it is also going increase much needed premium dollars for insurance companies whose premiums are based on payroll costs.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
12 states now have plans for a minimum wage of $9 or more
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| Map of minimum wage rates in the United States. See List of U.S. minimum wages. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
| Rhode Island on Thursday joined 11 other states that plan to raise their minimum wage to at least $9 over the next several years. At the start of next year, the state minimum wage will rise a buck to $9 an hour, according to a new measure Gov. Lincoln Chafee (D) signed into law on Thursday. Only three states currently have a minimum wage of at least $9. Washington’s is highest at $9.32, followed by Oregon’s minimum wage at $9.10. California’s rose to $9 earlier this week. When Rhode Island’s new rate goes into effect, it will be joined by three others: the minimum wage in Massachusetts will rise to $9, while that in Vermont and Connecticut will jump to $9.15. In all but three — Minnesota, Michigan and New York — the minimum wages will be above $10. By 2018, 12 states will have reached or surpassed the $9 level. Ten states and D.C. have enacted increases this year alone, according to a list maintained by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The states are: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia. Many more — 34 states — have considered doing so, according to the NCSL. |
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Report Recommends Raising Workers' Compensation Premiums
Workers' compensation premiums in California should increase by 3.4% in 2014, according to a report by the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports.The report represents a non-binding recommendation for insurers (Walters, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 8/12).BackgroundIn September 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed into law a bill (SB 863) that overhauled the state's workers' compensation system.The law -- by Sens. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim) -- changed the formula used to calculate benefits for injured workers, increasing their compensation by an average of 29%. It also eliminated benefits for certain health conditions that often are subject to lawsuits, such as psychiatric problems, sexual dysfunction and sleep loss. |
Monday, January 14, 2013
Second Injury Fund: Missouri Auditor Says Fund It, or Shut It Down
Thomas A. Schweich, MO State Auditor (Jan. 11, 2013)
Click here to read to report
Read more about "Second Injury Funds" and workers' compensation
Mar 20, 2012
Workers' Compensation: Are Second Injury Funds Going to be History Soon? As the Second Injury Fund debate in Missouri becomes more heated, one must consider the underlying issues challenging its existence. Whatever ...
Apr 21, 2010
The Missouri legislature failed to pass legislation that would rescue the state's Second Injury Fund (SIF) from financial collapse. The SIF has been long targeted for extinction by Industry in Missouri. The Attorney General order ...
Jan 25, 2010
NJ Second Injury Fund Is In Financial Trouble. Governor Christie's transition team reported that the NJ Second Injury Fund (SIF) is insolvent. Several options were presented, if the SIF is going continue to operate. The SIF was ...
May 09, 2011
In an editorial it declares that injured workers should receive benefits that they have been awarded un the Missouri workers' compensation Second Injury Fund which is now underfunded and unable to meet payment.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
NJ Workers Compensation Premiums Go Up for 2013
NJ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau has announced rate increases for 2013 as follows:
Revision of Rates and Rating Values – Effective January 1, 2013
The Commissioner of Banking and Insurance (“Commissioner”) has approved an 8.3%
increase in manual rates and rating values applicable to New Jersey workers compensation and employers liability insurance effective January 1, 2013 on a new and renewal basis.
SURCHARGES
New Jersey law mandates application of separate policyholder surcharges to finance the
Second Injury and Uninsured Employers’ Funds. Based on the Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s estimate of 2013 Fund requirements, the policyholder surcharge percentages effective January 1, 2013, on a new and renewal basis to be applied to the modified premium are:
Second Injury Fund 6.76%
Uninsured Employers’ Fund 0.00%
Read more about "premiums" and Workers' Compensation:
....
Jon L.Gelman of Wayne NJ, helping injured workers and their families for over 4 decades, is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson).
Revision of Rates and Rating Values – Effective January 1, 2013
The Commissioner of Banking and Insurance (“Commissioner”) has approved an 8.3%
increase in manual rates and rating values applicable to New Jersey workers compensation and employers liability insurance effective January 1, 2013 on a new and renewal basis.
SURCHARGES
New Jersey law mandates application of separate policyholder surcharges to finance the
Second Injury and Uninsured Employers’ Funds. Based on the Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s estimate of 2013 Fund requirements, the policyholder surcharge percentages effective January 1, 2013, on a new and renewal basis to be applied to the modified premium are:
Second Injury Fund 6.76%
Uninsured Employers’ Fund 0.00%
Read more about "premiums" and Workers' Compensation:
Sep 21, 2011
The team also discovered that for the entire 35-year timeframe of the study, rising premium rates were closely linked with the Dow Jones Industrial Average or Treasury bonds. As either the Dow or interest rates on Treasury ...
Jul 18, 2012
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that for the first time in four years, New York State employers will see a reduction in workers' compensation premium rates. The Governor asked for a reconsideration of the ...
Nov 13, 2012
The study, of what it calls "skyrocketing rates" yielding higher premiums, reveals that higher premiums are instead associated with decreases in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and interest rates on U.S. Treasury bonds.
....
Jon L.Gelman of Wayne NJ, helping injured workers and their families for over 4 decades, is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson).
Saturday, November 24, 2012
The "New Normal," Special Compensation Funds and Viability
The Court , in allowing $4.7 Million to be transferred by the state Legislature to the general treasury, held that the special fund was funding source subject to legislative review and appropriation. “….Because the legislature set the percentage rate of premiums from the State Compensation Fund and private carriers to be placed in the Special Fund, the funds are public monies,” and is therefore a public fund.
Second Injury Funds have been phased out throughout the US. Major industrial states have eliminated them over the past several decades, a move historically supported as employers, insurance companies and the American Bar Association.
New Jersey still has such a fund, ie., The Second Injury Fund. It has been decimated economically after the economic downturn and a series of similar repeated raids by the legislature. While a constitutional amendment has been enacted to prohibit raids, the economy has not increased enough to withstand the fiscal challenges.
Other states face similar problems. Missouri’s fund has not been able to pay beneficiaries for decades as it heads for extinction. New York’s fund has been challenged since assessments are soaring beyond what Industry feels are sustainable in the week economy.
The real challenge facing the nation’s patchwork of workers’ compensation programs is how to fund them generally in light of increased medical costs, lack of premiums due to unemployment and the “new normal” now emerging across the nation.
Read the decision: Industrial Commission of Arizona, et al. v. Janice K. Brewer, Governor, et al. , 1 CA-CV 11-0119 , (AZ App 2012), decided 11/23/2012.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
NJ Workers Compensation Ranked Nation's 7th Highest Premium Rate
Sep 12, 2012
Throughout the nation Workers' Compensation systems have been impacted by health care costs that now take a large piece of the premium dollar. Traditional health care offered by employers mirrors the same problem of ...
Mar 04, 2012
Premium Fraud: North Carolina Man Sentenced on Workers' Compensation Insurance Scam. English: The Seal of the United States Federal... Image via Wikipedia. Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern ...
Jun 05, 2012
The settlement is a result of AIG misreporting $2.12 billion of workers' compensation premium as other lines of insurance. As part of the settlement agreement, AIG agreed to pay a national penalty of $100 million, and $46.5...
Sep 11, 2012
The defense based NY Workers' Compensation Policy Institue has published a report reflecting that NY has the highest premium assessments in the country for workers' compensation. Note that NJ is not far behind when ...
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