After 53 years of insurance management, it seems time to turn the MTM helm over to a “new” manager. After lots of discussion, assessment and planning meetings, the Board of Directors over the last year came up with a transition date of 6/1/25.
(more…)By Ruth Kiefer, MSc, ARM
Vice President of Loss Control
My team and I are often asked “how can I improve my safety program?”. This is a question that comes up even to a seasoned safety professional as companies try to reduce operating costs as much as possible. A survey of regional safety professionals was recently conducted to determine what they would like to improve so they can provide a better safety culture in their workplace. Listed below are the top ten answers professionals gave to this question. I’ve added a loss control view after each identified issue.
(more…)Occasionally I am asked “where does the premium go that is paid by MTM members?” I could break that down into more than two dozen categories but let me just give you a high-level view. If I took 2023 as an example year, I could put the percentages into three basic categories. No surprise, the number one category is claims including legal expenses with the second being administrative expenses which include company salaries, rent and of course, taxes. Not only are there income taxes to pay but we’re also required to pay assessments to the state and a percentage of the premium as a state premium tax. And the third category are the leftover funds which are paid to members as dividends. Again, going back to 2023, in rounded numbers, 55% of the premium is paid out in claims and claims handling costs with 25% paid for MTM administrative expenses and 20% was returned as member dividends.
(more…)By Donna Motley,
Vice President of Claims
Determining what to write about this month was a no brainer – the subject: The weather! We just experienced a week of high temperatures with high humidity. While I have written about this topic in the past, after this past week, I feel it bears repeating.
It came upon us suddenly. We were not prepared. There was no chance to become acclimated. Becoming dehydrated or suffering from the heat is not covered by Workers’ Compensation. Keep an eye on your co-workers for signs – muscle cramping, a “heat” rash, headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, confusion, irritability, fatigue, weakness, numbness or tingling in limbs, fingers and toes, excessive thirst, dry mouth, infrequent urination. All signs there could be a problem.
(more…)By Ruth Kiefer, MSc, ARM
Vice President of Loss Control
As many of you have already experienced, MIOSHA had a full complete year of compliance audits and are on a roll. To help our policyholders stay on track, we always try to provide CET’s annual release of the top 20 that they provide at their annual Michigan Safety Conference. On the General Industry Safety violation side, approximately 500 citations were issued in 2023. They collected $1.33 Million in fines, which averages out to $2,606 for the average safety citation. Now for the Health side of things, as there are always two parts. The Health side issued 565 citations and collected $823,200 in fines. The average citation per location was $1,456. If you are unsure if you have a Health or Safety violation, please contact your Loss Control Consultant for more guidance of these most cited violations below. We are happy to help you stay in compliance.
(more…)In March, the Annual MTM Members meeting was held. This was the second year of the meeting to be held in March. Prior to the last two years, the meeting was held in October. At the October meeting one of the presentations was the company profitability for the current year and the ‘likelihood’ of a members’ dividend at the end of the year. After holding the meeting for many, many years in October, our Marketing Department discussed the advantage of holding the meeting in March at which time, instead of discussing the possibility of a dividend, we could actually hand out checks at the Annual Members meeting. This review and suggestion was made to the Board of Directors and the Board agreed to move the October Annual Members meeting to March.
(more…)By Travis Halsted, MS, CSP, ARM, COSS
Loss Control Consultant
As the weather is warming up, I am finding more and more of my visits with policyholders that result in us spending some time outside to check the perimeter of the building, parking lots, truck bays and other areas that often can go without routine inspections due to weather conditions. During one particular inspection I noticed a large area of dead poison ivy climbing the facility wall, and an impressive dormant bee nest in the tree next to their outside eating area. I asked them if they include the “outside” area in their facility hazard identification process. I was met with a response that got me thinking. That response was that they will add that aspect as soon as they start doing that inside the building first. My contact at this company felt that they weren’t qualified to identify hazards, and that by not knowing all of the standards and rules, it prevented them from being the person to do that. Sadly, as I started to ask some of my contacts at other policyholders if they felt that they were qualified to do hazard identification they said no, and that’s why they rely so heavily on their Loss Control Consultant. I want to assure all of you that you are qualified, and with some training on what to look for, you can become an expert at hazard identification as well.
(more…)By Donna Motley,
Vice President of Claims
I recently reviewed a new claim that crossed my desk for a “foot contusion” – a 14 pound part fell on the top of the employee’s foot. Fortunately, no bones were broken, but there was an abrasion with minimal blood, bruising and swelling. A trip to the local occupational clinic consisted of the examination, an x-ray and prescribing of the following: Bacitracin Ointment (an anti-biotic), Cephalexin (an oral anti-biotic), Naproxen (an antiinflammatory), Tylenol Extra Strength, an Ace Bandage, home dressing supplies, hot/cold pack, and a post-op shoe; also with a referral to physical therapy. Work restrictions were imposed with a return clinic visit in two days.
After two days, the return visit showed improvement, but the employee was to remain on the above prescribed protocol with a return visit in one week. At the one week return visit, cellulitis was diagnosed (a bacterial infection); Sulfamethoxazole (an anti-biotic) was prescribed; work restrictions remained in place.
(more…)By Ruth Kiefer, MSc, ARM
Vice President of Cost Control
As this article hits your inbox, we will be in that magical time when flowers bloom and evenings are getting longer. It is also the time to remind you to have your Heat Stress Program developed and ready to implement for the sometime sweltering days of summer.
There are 12 key elements of a Heat Illness Prevention program that. MIOSHA requires. 1) Having a plan – this includes monitoring, acclimating, and having work/rest schedules. 2) You should designate someone to oversee the Heat Safety Program. 3) Training for employees is key to the program and workers need to know the risks, symptoms, and response procedures, as well as prevention methods regarding heat stress.
(more…)January and February are an important time for MTM staff. It’s when we put together all the documentation that leads up to the printing of member dividend checks in March. Let me give you a rundown of what happens. On New Year’s weekend, Chris Doebler our 28-year veteran CFO puts together all of the claims detail and payroll information for 2023. This immense amount of detail is sent to an outside actuary to do loss valuations required by the Michigan Insurance Department. This review takes close to three weeks by the outside actuarial firm.
On January 29th Chris Doebler, Megan Brown, our VP of Sales/Marketing, and myself head to Nashville to meet with our actuarial advisors to discuss the results. We review the 110-page document to evaluate the proper reserves that are necessary to make sure that all the money necessary to pay those claims is put away. It is a challenging balancing act with the legislative and judicial changes, inflationary impact, and the loss trends of our members.
(more…)By Chris Demeter, Senior Loss Control Consultant
Lockout/tagout is not a topic to take lightly when it comes to the safety of your employees. Improperly following procedures or having no procedure at all is a serious MIOSHA offense, and fines are applied accordingly. Lockout/tagout is a critical safety component in safeguarding workers around the equipment they operate, service and maintain. For yet another year, MIOSHA’s Lockout/Tagout Standard made the list of the top 10 most frequently cited Standards. The most-cited sections within this standard focus on procedure development and use, inspections, employee training, and notification of the application and removal of lockout or tagout devices.
(more…)I hope your Christmas and New Year’s celebrations were relaxing, joyous, and shared with family. Mine was and, as a bonus, it appears I made it through the family get-together without picking up a cold from the grandkids. In my limited grandparent experience, I have been unsuccessful at staying healthy after visits with grandkids. It also appears that grandkids, until the age of six, have a constant runny nose and some sort of cold. After thorough research, I find that no one has solved this dilemma.
By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims
Let’s face it, we’ve been lucky so far! Living in Michigan and having temperatures in the 50’s in December? That wasn’t very common when I was growing up! I know I’m sounding old, but I can remember a Thanksgiving where there was three feet of snow on the ground! But, most likely, the snow is on its way. Or maybe even worse – ICE! Now is the time to prevent possible future injuries. “Ice and snow” are synonymous with “slip and fall”. Before the elements arrive, it would be a good idea to check the condition of your parking lot and fix the cracks and pot holes. Have the bag of salt or deicer on hand and ready to be spread. Inspect for accumulations of water, ice and snow. Make sure your outdoor cameras are operating properly. Inspect the mats inside the entrance and exit doors – are the corners curling (another trip hazard), are the mats thread bare, has the back-side lost their grip (i.e. do they slide)?
(more…)By Ruth Kiefer, MSc, ARM
Vice President of Loss Control
During my facility visits this year I was surprised by the amount of MTMIC policyholders that had not submitted their 300A electronically for the 2022 year. This oversight on average cost each policyholder anywhere between $600-$1,400 in a MIOSHA penalty fine.
(more…)Since claims and loss control expenses take nearly 70% of every premium dollar, most of what you hear from MTM is about how to reduce accidents and when an injury does occur, how we manage each claim dollar in the most effective way possible. With that said, MTM conducts an audit each year when each workers’ compensation policy expires. To complete these audits, we have used an outside audit service and many of you will recognize Aprise as the firm that visited your shop or conducted your internal email/phone audit. They have done an excellent job, however COVID changed the audit process significantly by greatly increasing the number of audits that were done by email/phone with the number of field audits considerably lower. When the audits are processed internally by email/phone, it appeared that that process could be handled at a reduced cost by MTM staff. We conducted a research project and determined that somewhere between $80,000 to $120,000 of savings could be realized by moving this to an in-house function. On August 1st, we implemented a gradual conversion to an internal MTM process. Many of you know Glenda Moyle, Premium Accounting Manager who has been producing audit invoices and processing the collection of MTM audits for more than 40 years. In the past, she would send the audit paperwork to Aprise to conduct a field audit or an email/phone audit. Glenda’s function is unchanged. What we have changed is that the audit assignments will be done internally, and the internal email/phone audits will be conducted by MTM staff. We will still use Aprise when a field audit is the appropriate audit method.
On August 1st, we implemented the program and got the conversion underway with the goal of being fully converted by 12/1. With good procedures in place, forms and management support, this conversion has gone very well and with the large number of members in January you’re likely to see correspondence from the MTM Internal Audit Associate, Faris Saleem.
In the meantime, one of the important parts of this project is to make sure that you know that we take the stewardship of MTM premium seriously. We are always looking for ways to reduce our costs, which increases the dividend value for our members. With the MTM Board of Directors made up of 11 shop managers, that remains a primary focus from the Board to the President and to the employees of MTM.
Until next time, have a wonderful fall.
By Travis Halsted, ARM, COSS
Loss Control Specialist
As the leaves start to change colors, the temperatures dip at night, and the trick or treaters are developing their gameplan to get the most candy possible, we can’t help but notice that one particular item isn’t changing in our workplaces. That particular item is the need for employees. Temp agencies aren’t producing the number of employees that they were before, applications from potential hires have slowed to a trickle, all while production is starting to increase in several industries. Because of this, companies have turned to their office staff to enter the manufacturing floor, and fill some of the vacant positions. This can prove to be an immediate solution, but without addressing proper training this could also prove to create more challenges.
(more…)By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims
Summer is over, the kids are back in school. For the most part, vacations are over. Everyone should be settling down into their usual routine. Should that equate to fewer work related injuries? Probably not – because – the HOLIDAYS are upon us. Whether we partake or not, decorating for Halloween is becoming almost, if not, as big as decorating for Christmas! I’m sure you have seen the lawn decorations that stand as high or higher than your house. Following Halloween is Thanksgiving – not very much by way of decorating, but good food and football come into play, as well as raking leaves. Then Christmas or Hanukkah – which usually comes with a serving of snow shoveling. We are probably using a different set of muscles than what we used during the summer months which can lead to work injuries.
Daylight Savings Time is still in effect. We will be going to work in the dark and coming home from work in the dark. Daylight Savings along with the change in weather has an impact on our sleep patterns. Dark, cloudy days, colder weather and lack of sleep can lead to depression. Which, in turn, can lead to work injuries.
As an employer, you might be hiring seasonal help or maybe you are currently short staffed following the after effects of the UAW strike. Hiring new employees, bringing people back to work following a lay-off, or having to require your employees to make up for absent workforce, adds additional strain. Maybe you are only couch surfing on the weekend – again, you will have to use different muscles than previously utilized in the summer.
All of the above can contribute to, or cause, work related injuries. Does the change in seasons also have an impact on your business – are you busier or slower? Look for possible trends in work related injuries. Not to be forgotten, Michigan hunting season begins in September and continues through December! Pay particular attention to those Monday and/or Friday injuries!
For the last ten years I have avoided jumping into the legislative process. Like most of our shop leaders, I view my job is to work hard and get the best results possible in the environment that surrounds us. When legislation would change matters, my job would be to adjust and figure out how to succeed and represent our members with the best results possible. I think that’s probably what most of our shop managers do. However, things change and all of a sudden it appears that we have no choice but to be more involved.
As I look at the legislative changes for our shops in just the last eight months, there have been dramatic shifts in policy that effects our businesses. As many of you are aware, we have been active partners with the Michigan Manufacturers Association. They have a strong legislative arm. MTM is also a member of the Insurance Alliance of Michigan (IAM). That is a group of insurance companies that also has a legislative presence. For the most part MTM and myself individually have attended but not been active in those legislative efforts. With the introduction of House Bill 4390, it is obvious to me that we must be more involved and encourage our members to be involved also.
(more…)By Ruth Kiefer, Vice President of Loss Control
MIOSHA is back out in the field with a seemly whole new crew of enforcement officers and they are knocking on lots of policyholder doors. After a few years off due to Covid, it is now necessary that you put safety back into the forefront of your businesses. It is very important that you take this time to dust off your safety programs and review your programs and when the last time your employee’s were trained. You need to ensure that your safety training is up-todate or determine if you are missing some programs due to new equipment installed or change of staffing.
You can find all the necessary safety programs on our portal. These safety programs are fill-in-the-blank templates that help you satisfy the written program requirements for MIOSHA. Also on the portal is everything you need for your safety training requirements as well, with well over 700 videos you’ll definitely find what your looking for. If you need to narrow the scope of your training needs, reach out to your MTM loss control person so they can direct you to the right video or written program.
(more…)
