By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

Injuries seem to run in cycles. During the course of the year, we will see a rash of a particular type of injury. At certain times, it will seem like we receive an above average amount of hernia claims, or shoulder injuries, or foot injuries, etc. This past November and December, we received an inordinate number of head and/or face/mouth injuries.

ANY injury to the head is serious. ANY injury to the head should be called in to us immediately. ANY injury to the head should be treated immediately. A visit to the occupational clinic is fine; if the clinic feels it is warranted, they will refer the injured worker to the emergency room where, most likely, a CT Scan may be performed. You want to avoid the employee indicating they are “fine”, then going home and deciding later that evening that they need medical treatment and they then go to the emergency room without authorization.

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By Ruth Kiefer, ARM, MSc, Loss Control Manager

I know we just came out of the season of giving, however, this is most likely something that your fellow employees don’t want to exchange, the dreaded flu. Having just experienced this sidelining virus myself, I must attest that my policyholders who I needed to visit, appreciated that fact that I didn’t come out to see them while I was sick. They graciously rescheduled our visit for the following week. Since there has been such an increase in flu cases, OSHA has provided a baseline infection control procedure for the seasonal flu. Employers should ensure that they have the most up-to-date information when making decisions about operations and planning.

What to do to protect yourself during flu season:

1) Vaccination is the most important way to prevent the spread of the flu

2) Stay at home if you are sick. The HHS/CDC recommends that workers who have a fever and respiratory symptoms stay at home until 24 hours after their fever ends (100 degrees Fahrenheit [37.8 degrees Celsius] or lower), without the use of medication. Not everyone who has the flu will have a fever. Other symptoms could include a runny nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting.

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All State and Federal Labor Law posters have been mailed. If you did not receive them or need additional sets, please email Patty Allen at patricia.allen@mtmic.com/blog with requests for additional sets.

The MTMIC Board of Directors is pleased to inform you that at the last Board Meeting the Board Members unanimously passed a resolution setting the stage for a Policyholder’s Dividend in the first quarter of 2015. Final determination of the dividend will be made in February 2015 once the 12/31/14 financial results are finalized. It is anticipated that the Policyholder Dividend will be based on policyholder premiums paid with eligibility determined by account loss history. While we do not yet have year-end results and final determination of the dividend, the Board Resolution is the first step in the process of a Dividend Declaration for early 2015.

2014 MTMIC Annual Members meeting:

Location: St. John’s, Plymouth

Surveys were given to each attendee. The comment on the meeting location – all checked “Excellent”. Hand written comments added “St. John’s is Awesome”, “Very Nice, and “Keep the same location”. Food also had unanimous “Excellent” grading.

Our guest speakers were: Keith Castora, Workers Compensation Claims Magistrate and John Harris, President of Shadow Investigations. Both were informative. John had interesting investigations stories that were enjoyed by all. For full disclosure, a couple surveys commented that the audio system needed to be turned up for the Magistrate as he was soft spoken and hard to hear. We will have a more rapid response to the speaker system next year.

General comments about the meeting:

“The meeting location was beautiful. I enjoyed my first time at the annual members meeting.”

“I was happy I attended and wish I had come in the years past. It (the meeting) moved quickly and was time well spent. Also I enjoyed the networking opportunities with other members, including Board Members.”

“This was my first time attending the Annual Meeting and it was a very positive experience! The site, food spectacular and the hospitality was excellent. Looking forward to 2015.” The plans have already begun for next year as we have already reserved our meeting rooms at St. John’s. When it gets closer to the meeting date, we will give you specific information and hope you will put this on your list of things to do.

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By Donna Motley, Director of Claims

Medical expenses always seem to be on the rise. The Workers’ Compensation weekly benefit (the amount paid to the injured worker) usually increases annually even though it is based on the State Average Weekly Wage. Workers’ Compensation coverage is mandatory in the State of Michigan – part of the cost of doing business!

Once a Workers’ Compensation claim is turned in to our office, we take the reins and take control, attempting to minimize all the costs involved, the length of disability, and to assure a successful return of the injured worker to productivity. Everyone benefits. But, as an employer, there are things that you can do to help mitigate the expenses or costs on the claim.

Obviously, one of the most important things an employer can do, is report the claim As Soon As Possible! That way, we are controlling treatment (and costs) from the onset. As an employer, NEVER tell an injured worker to seek treatment with their primary care physician or a physician of their choosing. Any treatment outside the Occupational Clinic results in a delay in obtaining medical records that are required before authorization to treat can be rendered. If an employee is off work during this period – the cost of the claim has just increased significantly. If the injury is questionable and/or you are unsure of the direction that should be taken, PLEASE call our office for advice.

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By Chris Demeter, Senior Loss Control Consultant

OSHA has expanded the list of severe injuries & illnesses that employers must report and updated the list of industries who are partially exempt from routinely keeping OSHA records.

“OSHA will now receive crucial reports of fatalities and severe work-related injuries and illnesses that will significantly enhance the agency’s ability to target our resources to save lives and prevent further injury and illness. This new data will enable the agency to identify the workplaces where workers are at the greatest risk and target our compliance assistance and enforcement resources accordingly.”
— Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. David Michaels

For workplaces under Federal OSHA jurisdiction

• Final rule becomes effective January 1, 2015 For workplaces in State Plan States (MIOSHA)
• States encouraged to implement new coverage provisions on January 1, 2015, or as soon after as possible.

The rule expands the list of severe work-related injuries and illnesses that all covered employers must report.

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The MTMIC Marketing Staff are in the process of mailing out the updated State and Federal Labor Law Posters for 2015. Your company will be receiving them in the next couple of weeks. Contact Patty Allen at patricia.allen@mtmic.com/blog if you will be in need of more than one set of posters.

Please let us know if we can assist you in any manner and thank you for being a customer of MTMIC, we value your business.

It’s hard to believe summer is over and with that the MTMIC staff started the annual task of preparing for January 1 policy renewals. Nearly half of all MTMIC policy holders renew on January 1. I should mention that before we start the individual account review, some significant big issues are taken care of. The first is regarding an overall company rate change: great news is that since February 1, 2013 we have not had a rate increase. Secondly all employer experience modifications have been ordered from the state rating agency. When our policyholders talk about workflow peaks and valleys, we fully understand the challenges. For each renewal, we contact you or your broker for the 2015 estimated payrolls, we review current Loss Control reports, study loss history and contact you with any questions we might have. The end goal of this whole process is to make sure we properly renew your account and use all the available discounts you are entitled too. Thanks for your help in this process.

On another item, the MTMIC annual members meeting is going to occur on Thursday, October 16th. This year the meeting is being held at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth. The meeting begins at 11:30, wraps up by 1:30 and includes lunch. We promise to use your valuable time efficiently. Our guest speakers for this year are Workers’ Compensation Magistrate Keith Castora who will present an “Update on the Workers’ Compensation Mediation Process”. John Harris from Shadow Investigations, Inc is our second speaker and will discuss “Social Media Impact on Workers’ Compensation Investigations”. We think you will find their presentations interesting and helpful. We hope you will join us as all MTMIC staff will be in attendance.

By Donna Motley, Director of Claims

While scanning some publications, I came across an article that itemized “8 CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUCCESSFUL W/C PROGRAM”. The original source of the article was Zurich American Insurance Company. Below we have modified the article to explain these characteristics and include ways MTMIC can help you with your programs. The characteristics were listed as follows:

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By Travis Halsted, Loss Control Consultant

Each year, millions of workers suffer workplace lacerations that could be prevented. From the use of improper tools, moving material unsafely, and inadequate personal protective equipment, employees suffer a great deal of avoidable injuries.

Through a review of the lacerations within MTMIC’s loss run history, the issue of laceration injuries is very apparent. Since 2009, 2,091, or 25% of the total 8,536 injury claims reported have been lacerations. Of those 2,091 laceration claims, 1,508, or 72%, were reported to have taken place on the hand (fingers, thumbs) of the injured employee.

Monetarily speaking, lacerations account for $4,401,735, or 10%, of the total $42,654,333 spent on workplace injuries by MTMIC since 2009. This percentage is only surpassed by fractures (12%) and strains (46%). As the numbers point to the fact that lacerations are not only one of the most reported workplace injuries, but also one of the most costly, it is vital to identify some measures to reduce the likelihood of continued lacerations.

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By Ruth Kiefer, ARM Loss Control Manager

Just this year, safety professionals from all over the country were asked by EHS Today “In what area would you most like to see an improvement in your safety program?” Listed below are the top ten answers professionals gave to this question. I’ve added a loss control view after each identified issue.

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Please mark your calendars for our upcoming Annual Meeting on October 16, 2014. This year the meeting will be at:

The Inn at St. John’s ~ Nazareth Room
44045 Five Mile Road
Plymouth, MI

Invitations will be going out in the next couple of weeks. Please contact us in the meantime if you have any questions.

It is no surprise that MTMIC Board Members have a depth of experience in product production, especially due to our company name. All ten of our Board members own, have built, manage or are senior officers of Michigan manufacturing facilities. The 38 year history of the company is based on small, medium and large Michigan manufacturers. With this type of Board member, our sole goal is to support Michigan manufacturers with the lowest cost workers’ compensation coverage consistent with financial stability to pay future claims.

In the last few months I have asked Board Members for a profile. As successful as these 10 men and women are, they don’t care much about talking about themselves. But after enduring a little push back, the management team “won” recently when we profiled our newest Board Member, Karen Schluckebier from The Rogers Group in Clare.

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Some good news – MTMIC’s last general rate increase was January 1, 2011 and with current loss trends we don’t see a need for one in the future (sorry my crystal ball has a forward looking limit of only one year).

Let me tell you more about our/your loss trends. Of course you would expect that we keep data by type of loss, classification of loss, by month, and year since we converted to MTMIC January 1, 2007 from the MTA Self- Insured Fund. That gives us over 7 ½ years of experience to rely upon. This data is used to direct Loss Control efforts, build claims research files, study underwriting issues as well as in financial/rate making tasks.

Here’s some loss frequency numbers from 1/1 – 7/31:

Medical Only:
2014 – 805
2013 – 969
2012 – 847

Time Loss:
2014 – 114
2013 – 120
2012 – 116

What makes these numbers more impressive than just the raw data, is that we grew (exposure base) in 2013 and 2014. Growth in 2013 was 13.12% larger than 2012 and our estimate of growth in 2014 vs 2013 is 5.88%. The offset to this great news of reducing claims frequency is that the claims that do happen are costing more. There continues to be an upward trend on medical care costs and time loss.

We hope you find the monthly articles from the Loss Control and Claims Departments useful and hope the safety video library on our company website is beneficial to your organization. By the way, our 750 policyholders viewed our library of safety videos 3,235 times in the last year. I would like to thank our Loss Control Consultants in this effort and want you to know that our Claims people vigorously review every claim for compensability and then if compensable, every claim dollar is watched like it was their own.

Thank you for your Loss Control efforts, which are noticed and do effect rates. Now back to work, with safety goggles on, hearing protection, safety shoes, machine guards, proper lifting techniques …

By Donna Motley, Director of Claims

Communication in our industry is crucial. We have at our disposal multiple ways to communicate, telephone, computer (e-mail), faxing, even the old fashion form of “written” communication. In the Workers’ Compensation arena, we still need “written” proof of a claim. As you are aware, the Employers Basic Report of Injury (Form 100) must be submitted before we can physically set up a claim file. Obviously, the form needs to be completed properly in order to fill in the fields required by the computer. Claim information is tracked by the State of Michigan – hence the required fields.

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As a MTMIC policyholder and mutual company member, it is important I give you management updates on the company similar to my reports to the MTMIC Board of Directors. Our mid-year review is a perfect time for a MTMIC 2014 update business plan goals such as sales, loss control visits, claims activity, underwriting service and company investment status. All of these are important service standards for MTMIC policyholders.

When reviewing with the Board I use a “Green Light”, “Yellow Light” and “Red Light” approach. “Green Lights” signifying that we are on target with our goals and barring some significant change, we will meet these business goals. “Yellow Lights” informing the Board that the goal is in jeopardy and that management is refocusing and moving resources to achieve these goals. “Red Light” meaning the goal for some business reason is no longer valid or costs of the goal have exceeded the budget and the goal needs reassessment.

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By Donna Motley
Director of Claims

The cost of insurance, any kind of insurance, is not cheap. As premiums escalate, there appears to be a new “buzzword” – FRAUD. While the notion of fraud is not new, more and more people are starting to get angry and show interest in putting a stop to it. Some states (not Michigan) have started movements to prosecute those committing insurance fraud. I read recently that Michigan’s automobile premiums had the largest increase in the U.S. in 2013 because of claims paid outside of property damage. That would mean the bulk of payments were for “alleged” injuries and medical care.

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By Glenda Moyle
Premium Accounting Manager

Every year after the final audits are completed we have a few companies who have a significant audit balance due. As much as you hate paying these surprise audits we dislike collecting on them.

One way to avoid this would be to take a look at your estimated payrolls and compare it to your actual payrolls. You can find your estimated payrolls on your current declaration page broken down by class code.

If you find that your actual payrolls are above your estimated payrolls and you wish to revise them please contact me at glenda.moyle@mtmic.com/blog or you can call me at (800) 274-5606 X1315 with any questions you might have.

ByRuth Kiefer, ARM
Loss Control Manager

I’d like to take a moment to explain the reason why my staff and I take safety very seriously when we survey your facilities. Our time doing this job has taught us one thing, that when things go wrong, they are quick and unforgiving. During our safety walkthroughs of your facilities, we try to encourage you to address certain hazards, we may sound like broken records at times, and there is a clear and fateful reason why we do. Injuries and deaths occur all the time in our industry. It is real. We see it first hand, we investigate it, we analyze the data, and we crunch the numbers. It may be just a story that you read, a highlight on the nightly news, but these are real people, that could have been your own employee. Or perhaps have been one of your employees.

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While I normally provide our newsletter with current issues in Michigan Workers’ Compensation, this month is different. I am asked regularly about MTMIC ownership and governance. These are great questions for a small, specialty driven workers’ compensation carrier like MTMIC. For our first 30 years of operation, we operated as a Self-Insured Fund. Since January 1, 2007, we have been licensed as a member owned mutual insurance company. Everything we do is based on what is in the best interest for our member owners and we have no outside investors that direct our pricing decisions or we pay fees to. I report to the 10 member Board of Directors, many of them have a long history with the company. The ten Board members include:

6 – Business Owners
2 – Chief Financial Officers
1 – Human Resource Vice President
1 – Retired Business Owner

Their firms cover the range of 10 to 400 employees. Some have business in other states and a couple have business in other countries. Needless to say, my “bosses” have a wide and vast range of skills and experiences. My focus and the company course is set by the Board. In the next few newsletters you will see profiles of these important people as they are an integral part of the MTMIC success story.

In fact this is a time to give you an early invitation of the Members’ Annual Meeting which is Thursday, October 16th. This year the meeting is at The Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth and lunch begins at 11:30. MTM Board members and the entire staff attend the meeting. Feedback from members who have attended previous meetings is that it was time well spent. In the next couple months, I will have more meeting details.