On February 21, the MTM Board of Directors with management reviewed 2018 financial results. This meeting took place after the Board Marketing and Board Finance Committees had weighed on this issue two weeks earlier. At the end of the Board review, they approved three member dividend declarations. The first dividend was $1.6 million to be shared by all MTM members.

The second declaration was an additional $2.4 million dividend to be shared by MTM members that had a loss ratio lower than the company’s average loss ratio for three years. In the third declaration, the Board approved a new dividend of about $450,000 to newer MTM members to bring them into the dividend cycle sooner than has been in the past.

By Chris Demeter, Senior Loss Control Consultant

If you have been a frequent reader of our monthly newsletter over the years, you know we have showcased a couple times the Alliance MTMIC has with MIOSHA CET. We have one of the longest running Alliances, 13-years and going strong. Every three years the Alliance has to be renewed. This year the renewal signing was done at the MTMIC office. After each renewal signing, MIOSHA releases a press release announcing the signing. Below is the press release along with a couple pictures.

To learn more about the free consultation and training services MIOSHA CET offers, see the following link: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dleg/wsh_ cet0165_216929_7.pdf

MTMIC members who are interested in setting up free MIOSHA CET services at your facility (e.g. air or noise monitoring, hazard survey or training) contact Chris Demeter, MTMIC Alliance liaison, at 517.230.0937 or by email at chris.demeter@mtmic.com/blog. Chris will submit a request for consultative assistance (RCA) form on your behalf.

January is a busy month for MTM Management. Nearly half of all MTM members have policies that renew in January. Also in January the MTM Accounting people are busy working with our outside actuary to close and determine the results for 2018. In 2018 we had two fatalities. In an average year our members have two amputations. That’s what it was in 2017, and in 2018 we had seven amputations. During the year, these results were concerning, and we asked the MTM loss control staff to give more focus to this area with our members. Not only do these severe accidents have a dramatic impact on the worker and their families, but it also is hugely disruptive to the shop and the remaining staff. Loss Control people, as they visit you, will be paying special attention to lock out/tag out procedures and electrical connections.

With this increase in severity drawing our focus, we found some good news, too. The good news is that the average frequency of normal accidents was less. That is some of the increase in severity is offset by reduction in normal accidents. So with a drumroll, in February management recommended and the MTM Board committees and the MTM Board approved a $4.5 million dividend to MTM members. This equals 25% of the current premium. This is also the fifth year in a row where member dividends have been paid. Like past years, the dividend is made up of parts. Part one is a $1.6 million loyalty dividend, which is split amongst all MTM members.

By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

At this time of year, particularly this year, we seem to talk and complain about the weather. The winter season 2018 – 2019 has been confusing, if nothing else. We’ve had snow, ice, sleet/freezing rain, temperatures that range from sub-zero to almost spring. As a result of our yo-yo weather, a lot of people have gotten sick and a lot of people have sustained an injury. Our department is receiving a lot of claims for “slip and fall on ice and snow” resulting in broken bones, sore muscles and head injuries that are being defined as a “concussion”. A concussion is considered to be a “traumatic brain injury” – a mild traumatic brain injury – the least serious type of brain injury. A concussion is defined as a short loss of normal brain function.

In January we mailed out information relating to Proposal 1 – Michigan Regulation & Taxation of Marihuana Act Passage. We mentioned that we were in the process of putting together a template for a substance abuse policy and that process is almost complete. It has gone a little slower than anticipated but should be in your hands in the next few weeks. For more information, please contact Megan Brown at (248) 715-0012 or your loss control representative.

All State & Federal Labor Law Posters have been mailed out to all of our companies, as well as updated minimum wage information and the new Paid Medical Leave Act details. If you have NOT received yours please contact Patty Allen (patricia.allen@mtmic.com/blog) who will get a replacement set mailed out to you.

Mark your calendars now so you do not miss our 2019 Annual Meeting! Join us October 17, 2019 at the Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth, Michigan.

If so, you should sign up for AutoPay! We divide your annual premium into twelve monthly payments and automatically pull the money from your checking account on the due date, saving you time, postage, and fear of your payment being late. If you are interested you can contact Chris Doebler at chris.doebler@mtmic.com/blog or Glenda Moyle at glenda.moyle@mtmic.com/blog. Already into your policy year? We can take the rest of your scheduled payments via AutoPay at your request!Another option is to pay the year in full up front. Not only will you receive a 3% discount on your annual premium but you don’t have to worry about making any monthly payments. You can make your payment by check or via AutoPay.

This time of year with so many renewals in January, one of the top three questions is “I don’t understand my experience modification.” It is a topic I have covered once or twice in the past, but a refresher course might be helpful. First, the Michigan Workers’ Compensation experience mod is an individual experience modification that is based on each company’s loss experience. Six months after every policy expires, Michigan Workers’ Compensation insurance carriers are required to submit payroll by class code and loss details for every policy that they write. This information is analyzed at a rating bureau, the Compensation Advisory Organization of Michigan (CAOM), and a single experience modification is published for every employer. A handful of exceptions exist such as large self-insured employers. But the vast number of employers have a standard Workers’ Compensation experience modification that is used by all carriers.

By Ruth Kiefer, ARM, Loss Control Manager

Each year we look at January as a new beginning, with the coming of a new year, I would also like you and I to make a renewed commitment to safety and keeping our employees safe in our workplaces. Our Loss Control team has worked hard to inform you of recent MIOSHA changes, provide current and up to date training videos along with safety program templates. All of these and more are at your finger tips when you log onto our on-line portal. So this is a new year and new beginnings for many of us and I wanted you to be aware of this years focus of the compliance department of MIOSHA and MTMIC. I say MTMIC, because we too see the injury trends in the industry and we have worked hard to make you the tools to assist you with the MIOSHA Initiatives. These initiatives are created to help reduce injury trends in the workplace and I want to review a few of them with you.

By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

Every generation has had great accomplishments that benefit humanity. Even with all the negative that occurs in our world, we are living in wonderful times. Think of what your grandparents or great grandparents would think if they were living in today’s environment! Wouldn’t they be amazed? Or, look at the reverse. The younger generation don’t have “land line” telephones, much less know what a “party-line” is! Even though they can type on their computer or phone – what’s a typewriter? I read an article in The Detroit News a couple of weeks ago about scientists developing technology to “objectively” measure a person’s pain. As we know, pain is “subjective”. We all experience pain differently – as well as there being different “kinds” of pain. Muscle pain is different than nerve pain – think in terms of a sore elbow verses a tooth ache or ear ache. A migraine verses a tension headache or caffeine withdrawal. How we react to pain is ingrained in us as children. People playing sports are trained to “walk it off” or “play through” the pain. Typically, a doctor will ask a patient to measure their pain on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worse. A pain level of 3 to one person, may be an 8 to another.

Three important items to update you on:

• You are probably well aware of our partnership with Michigan Manufacturers Association (MMA) which began July 1, 2018. We have had many joint events and announcement mailers. In November MMA held its Annual Awards Ceremony. This dress-up event had 300 professionals in attndance. Our own Megan Brown, MTM VP of Sales & Marketing presented the MFG Emerging Leader award. There was also a fun award for “the most interesting thing made in Michigan”. Lots of cool stuff. One item was the gorgeous stainless steel pontoon boats made by Avalon & Tahoe. You may recall I highlighted this company/product just a couple months ago. It was hard to pick a winner, but the final tally went to a 115 year old company in the U.P. that makes the historic Stormy Kromer hats. MTM was honored to participate in this gala event. I recommend putting this event on your calendar for next November.

• Another important item, about half of MTM members renew their coverage in January. The MTM staff has been working hard gathering updated payroll data, state experience modifications, claims and Loss Control information to prepare these members’ renewals. Except for a handful, all have been delivered. Please call us or your agent if you have any questions on your renewal.
• Lastly, but probably the most important, the MTM Finance Committee and MTM Board of Directors reviewed 2018 preliminary financial data. On December 14th, a resolution was passed that a dividend of $3.5M be returned to members. This dividend is paid in March of 2019 to members with active policies on February 21, 2019. This is the 5th year in a row of MTM dividendsUntil next time, please enjoy family and friends during this holiday season.

By Travis Halsted, Loss Control Consultant

Election Day 2018 has come and gone. A new governor was elected and several important issues were settled. While each item that was voted on holds a level of significance to many, one particular item has left companies from every industry scratching their heads. Proposal 1’s passage has provided more questions than answers, but I hope that I can help clear up some of the questions that you may have. Although Michigan voters passed the proposal to legalize marihuana for adult recreational use, employers can still “just say no” to hiring or retaining employees who violate workplace drug policies. The spelling of Marihuana versus the more common marijuana spelling dates back to the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Michigan utilized the federal spelling at that time, which was Marihuana. An act of Michigan Legislature is required in order to change the spelling to the informal spelling (marijuana), administrative rules will be using an “h” in the spelling.

We are excited to announce that we have enhanced our customer portal so that you will now have the ability to upload medical documents as a means to get them to the claims adjuster that is handling your claim. This can be done by following these simple steps:

• Log into the portal
• Go to the claims tab
• Click on the open claims tab
• Look up the name of your injured employee
• Click the Upload Documents button and attach the documents in either a .pdf or .jpg format

As soon as the documents are uploaded, the claims adjuster assigned to the claim will receive an alert that there is medical documentation waiting for them. You will be able to view the documentation after it is uploaded. Please contact Patty at (248) 715-0013 or patricia.allen@mtmic.com/blog with questions.

The bill regarding Michigan’s Minimum Wage was just signed by the Governor on December 13, 2018. The new legislation is under review by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division. Therefore, the MTMIC State and Federal Labor Law Posters will not be mailed out in December as in past years due to the late changes made on the Michigan Minimum Wage section. We are waiting for updated information from LARA’s Wage and Hour Division. Unfortunately we have been told that the updated information will not be released until January. We apologize for the delay ~ posters will be sent as soon as we receive the updated information. 

On Thursday, October 18th, MTM held its annual membership meeting. (Pictures are included in the newsletter.) At each MTM annual member’s meeting we try to spend most of the time relaying helpful information to our members. This year, that topic was active shooter and crisis management (Crisis Recovery after Active Shooter and Traumatic Events). Given all the things we’ve read and heard in the last couple of years on this topic, it seemed wise to have a professional in this field present toMTM members. The speaker was Dr. Ken Wolf who consults on workplace violence, active shooter survival, crisis management strategies and downsizing reductions in force. His resume is quite impressive and details his work in many crisis situations. Dr. Wolf assisted the US Army on-site at Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks, assisted following the mass shootings at the United States Post Office in Royal Oak (1991) and Dearborn (1993). He also responded to the Northwest Air disasters #255 (1987), #299 and #1482 (1990). Dr. Wolf assisted Ryder System and the UAW – GM after the Oklahoma City Terrorist bombing. He has been a news analyst for the Detroit affiliates of ABC, NBC and CBS. In the reviews of his presentation, the common topic critique included: learned lots, time well spent, can we have him back for more? His presentation was educational, interesting and at times scary. The topic and presentation captivated your attention.

Dr. Ken Wolf

While most of the meeting was spent on the above topic, I did give a quick nine month financial/dividend view of 2018. The year is not over and good/bad things can still happen, with nine months we are starting to get a pretty good picture of how the year’s finances/losses are doing. Overall, the results are not on pace for the record year of 2017, but 2018’s results still look good. And only two months to go before we close the year.

The loss year does look different than 2017. While the accident frequency in 2018 is nearly the same as recent prior years, we are seeing an increase in accident severity. Just in the last couple of weeks, we had an electrocution, an employee on his first day with an amputation, and third, a second amputation in the same week which required an air lifting to a trauma center. In the third case, we found in the accident investigation the employee had developed a creative way to bypass the tag out switch. So, my request to you as owners and managers of all our shops, please focus on guarding, looking for creative tag out measures, and training of new employees. Your goal, like ours is to always send the employee home in the same condition as they arrived. Be safe, John

The 2018 Annual Meeting was a great success. Here are a few snapshots from the event:

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By Ruth Kiefer, Loss Control Manager, ARM

With the ever tightening labor force and your need to fulfill orders and production, more of you are turning to a temp agency to fill this need. So what are your obligations to this temporary worker? Or to your new hires for that matter? I’m here to tell you that there is no longer an experienced workforce, or the days where you can find a good lathe operator, someone who knows the ins and outs of the presses in your shops. Those days are gone, the good ones are already working or retired, so you are left with inexperienced workers to choose from. As you know, schools no longer have in house training programs, it’s now left to you, the businesses to do the training, to create and form the “experienced worker”. It’s now on you to educate the younger workers entering the manufacturing sector.

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