The last 10 weeks has been most interesting. Years ago, I was in an unusual situation of being able to have dinner with Yogi Berra and two of his sons in New Jersey. It was a couple of evenings of fascinating discussion. After the first dinner, I read up more about Yogi and many of his famous common-sense quotes. One of my favorites was, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” It seems to apply so precisely to our last 10 weeks. Even with all the turmoil in life, the focus of MTM as always remains on what can we do to help our members. Let me cover two big items during the last 10 weeks.

By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

As we slowly attempt to return to our former lives (I’m not going to say “return to normal” because, let’s face it, I doubt things will ever be what we considered “normal” in the past), there will certainly be challenges that need to be met. MTMIC was fully functional during the “stay safe” order. Challenges were met in making sure injured workers received appropriate care and treatment. Telemedicine and Teletherapy were utilized. Nurse Case Managers were not allowed to attend appointments of those physicians that were continuing to see patients in person, so they would have a follow-up conference with the injured worker and the physician’s office and obtain the required paperwork for our department. However, for the most part, physicians were reluctant to do more than keep the injured worker “status quo” while utilizing Telemedicine. Teletherapy was a little more effective, as the therapist could actually watch and respond to the injured worker while maneuvers were performed. A few injured workers did advise they “preferred” in person therapy and returned (under CDC guidelines) as soon as they were allowed.

With the current changes that we are seeing on a weekly basis, the MTMIC Loss Control staff have put together a Best Work Practices During COVID-19 guide. If you have questions regarding this guide or anything related to COVID-19, please contact us at losscontrol@mtmic.com. 

We are anticipating moving forward with our 2020 Annual Members meeting on October 22, 2020 but will remain flexible as requirements change as a result of COVID-19. MTMIC is pleased to announce that John Walsh, President of the Michigan Manufacturers Association will be our featured speaker this year.

What a crazy time we live in. Everything is different. In just the last two months our personal lives, business lives, and staffing have all changed. Hard to believe that the world was normal just 60 days ago. In January, we were all dealing with “normal” business challenges. In February, the Board reviewed 2019 financials and declared a $4.5 million dividend to MTM member-owners. Dividend check deliveries began Tuesday, March 3rd and 10 days later by Governor’s Executive Order, the process was halted. Like some of you, I have been in business for over 45 years. I’ve seen many ups and downs, yet this business challenge is different.

During this shutdown, MTM is remaining fully functional and here’s what we are doing for our members:

By Ruth Kiefer, MSc, ARM, Vice President of Loss Control

My team and I have been trying to keep up with these crazy times and have developed a tool-kit on our portal to help assist you with this event. The MTMIC Loss Control Department is eager to assist you with providing a safe workplace for your current employees. To help you with this, we have developed Best Practices for protecting your employees, a medical check log, and have tried to clear the interpretation of how to report Covid-19 on your 300s if any employees test positive for the virus.

By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

By the time you are reading this, it is hoped that we are slowly getting back to “normal”, or at least our regular routine. The last couple of months have seen some employers reduce staff, temporarily shut down and/or even close their doors permanently. Once everyone is able to return to work, will everyone still have a job? Will business increase to make up for the lost time and revenue? It is anyone’s guess.

By John Karlen, CPCU, APA, ARe, President

As MTM president, I report to the members of the MTM Board of Directors. Our Board members have a variety of skill sets. Some are MTM business owners and others are MTM member CFOs or Risk Managers. All are results-driven, which forms good benefits and returns for all 932 MTM members. The staff is reminded constantly that MTM only exists for the benefit of the MTM members. MTM has no outside investors or shareholders to worry about.

For the past 5 years, we have been delivering MTM member dividend checks most often in person to our members. This year we began hand delivering dividend checks on Tuesday, March 3rd and all seemed normal through Friday, March 13th. Nearly half of our dividends were delivered in this first 10 days.

Then due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus government orders were given to close all group venues: athletic clubs, theaters, all concerts, sporting events. On Monday, March 16th there were additional orders closing restaurants and banning gatherings where more than 50 people would be in attendance. On Friday, March 13th I had 18 deliveries. I was greeted with all smiles, many pictures, two shop tours, life was close to normal. Over the weekend rumors abounded that government orders would come Monday announcing the closure of restaurants/bars, theaters, athletic events and any event with more than 50 people in attendance. On Monday I had 11 deliveries scheduled. Still greeted by grateful members, but no handshakes, 3 office managers “can you slide the check under the door”. It was a watershed experience. New conditions were affecting everything. As I drove back from the day deliveries, I got with MTM management and office staff. We needed to change directions quickly so that money would be delivered to members as soon as possible.

A revised plan of express mailing to members was developed on Tuesday, March 17th. On Wednesday March 18th, the express envelopes were on their way. Many times, I have written that delivering member dividends is the best part of my job. This year it seems mailing is the correct answer for the present situation. We all have had to make significant adjustments to our work and life activities. This is the time where getting the MTM dividends to members quickly and efficiently is most needed. With that in mind combined with the reduction in social contact, we are mailing your MTM dividend. While most of our shops remain operating, it is more complicated and concerning. A common call we are getting from shop owners and office managers is whether or not COVID -19 is covered by Workers’ Compensation. Included in this newsletter is a very good non-legal worded article about COVID-19 and Workers’ Compensation. Our thanks to the author Chris Boggs for sharing this with our members. Stay healthy and safe. And of course, call me with any questions.

By Chris Boggs, CPCU, ARM, ALCM, LPCS, AAI, APA, CWCA, CRIS, AINS

Published with the author’s permission.

A pandemic is defined as, an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population.” Although the media lives by the motto, If it bleeds, it leads,” declaring a pandemic anytime more than a few people contract a virus, this time even the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of possible Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Coronavirus expert, Professor Gabriel Leung, Chair of Public Health at Hong Kong University, says that unchecked, the virus could infect 60 percent of the global population meeting the definition of a pandemic.

My intent is not to accuse the media of sensationalism, nor to intimate that WHO is overreacting (I don’t think they are); my purpose is to answer the question, what makes an illness an occupational illness” and thus compensable under workers’ compensation? More specifically, how does or might workers’ compensation respond to the Coronavirus?

Mark your calendars now so that you are sure to join us on Thursday, October 22, 2020.

More information will be available as we get closer so watch this newsletter and your mail for complete details as they are available!!

In the past I’ve written about the Michigan State Workers’ Compensation Experience Rating Modification. This is the state’s individual promulgated employer experience for every Michigan employer. Here is a couple things I have not shared with you about the experience modification. First, the experience modification was developed by a state nonprofit group called Compensation Advisory Organization of Michigan (CAOM). This agency was set up in 1944 and is funded by a service fee on insurance companies who write workers’ compensation in the State of Michigan. Each insurance company in Michigan is required to submit to CAOM payroll and loss data for each Michigan employer so that the agency can work up the individual employer’s experience modification. CAOM issues over 80,000 experience modifications every year. While MTM shows your experience modification on your policy and then also on the end of your year-end audit, if anyone requests it, we are happy to send you a copy of your individual experience mod worksheet. That worksheet shows the last experience in payroll and claims for three years of your company history.

CAOM has a Board of Governors. This Board has representatives from the State Insurance Department and leading workers’ compensation carriers in Michigan. MTM has the good fortune to be one of those lead carriers and our own Chris Doebler, who has been responsible for the financial reporting of MTM and the former MTA Workers’ Comp Fund for over 30 years and MTM’s CFO since 2013, is the representative for MTM and its members. Having Chris on the Board gives MTM members influence and insight into the Michigan Workers’ Comp Employer Rating System. On behalf of MTM and our members, thank you, Chris, for representing us.

2020 Dividend

Consistent with the last six years, the February MTM Board Meeting was filled with good news for MTM members. Last year the Board approved $4.5 million in member dividends and the dividend this year is the same. Over the last six years the member dividends have totaled $22.5M. Also like last year, there are three major dividend components.

• A dividend was declared as a loyalty dividend in which all members participate.
• A second dividend was declared for Association members that had a three year loss ratio that beats the MTM company loss ratio.
• If a member’s dividend does not meet a minimum using 1. And 2. above, a minimum dividend applies.

These three components are used to calculate the dividend and one check is issued. Interestingly of the known 932 current members, we had 926 number of dividend checks issued. Only a handful of new members with effective dates of January 1, 2020 or after, did not get a dividend check in this cycle.

The member dividend checks are to be printed by March 1 and delivery started immediately. In fact, by the time you get this newsletter we should have already started the delivery process. As I said before, delivering member dividend checks is the best part of my job and I will be on the road beginning March 2nd. In the next newsletter we’ll have some of the member dividend pictures.

One other piece of good news. At the February Board meeting the Board also approved some increased credits and reduced rates. These will automatically apply on your next MTM policy.

Now I will get back to setting my delivery routes. And I will see you soon.

By Chris Demeter, Senior Loss Control Consultant

Every once in a while my brother will send me a link to a YouTube video of a workplace mishap caught on film. Most of the videos he sends are involving forklifts. They range from a forklift overturning, an unstable load resulting in losing its load, using a forklift improperly to elevate personnel, and forklifes driving into a racking system causing them to fall like a stack of dominoes. This may be riveting to watch, but there is a good chance someone was seriously injured not to mention the thousands of dollars in damage. To put it in perspective, the average automobile weighs approximately 3,000 lbs. and the average forklift not including the load weighs close to 9,000 lbs. To prevent the forklift from tipping forward while lifting a load, forklifts are equipped with a counterweight in the rear of the vehicle. To accommodate narrow aisle and restricted area operations, forklifts are designed with a tight turning radius. With the tight turning radius, it’s common for the rear of the forklift to strike an object such as a storage rack causing damage. It’s common for the damage to go unreported for fear of an employee write-up.

By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

An Occupational Clinic plays a very important role in the world of Workers’ Compensation insurance. An Occupational Clinic differs from an Urgent Care Clinic. The treating personnel at Occupational Clinics, primarily, if not exclusively, treat work related injuries.

Work injuries greatly differ from an injury that may occur at home or result from a motor vehicle accident. Think about machine shops, foundries, stamping plants, etc. and all the equipment utilized to manufacture product within those facilities. Even a restaurant kitchen exposes an employee to more hazards than would be encountered at home. Work injuries can affect virtually every part of the human body (and we have seen it all!).

Occupational Clinic personnel “specialize” in work injuries. We encourage you to develop a close working relationship with your chosen Occupational Clinic. Invite a physician or therapist from your Occupational Clinic to tour your facility so they can see the type of work being performed; so they are familiar with the type of injuries that may occur; and thereby also aid them in determining whether or not the injured worker can return to work with restrictions. Most Occupational Clinics are very familiar with the rules governing Workers’ Compensation and attempt to treat accordingly. The personnel know a disability slip is required for an employee to provide to his employer. Occupational Clinics generally know authorization for testing is required prior to scheduling.

log on to our website: www.mtmic.com/blog and click login (located at top right side of page)

• Your user id = your company 9 digit FEIN number (no dash)
• Your password = the last 6 digits of your workers’ compensation policy number – found on the Declaration and Information pages of your policy.
• You can add additional user id and passwords in the Security section for staff that need access.

As we begin 2020, there are a few things to report on as we close out 2019. First let me cover the worker injury piece. In 2019 we saw a year of positive loss trends and it ended with no member worker fatalities for the year. This is only the second time in recent memory that our members have made it through the year with zero fatalities.

On serious injuries such as amputations, 2019 had two-third fewer amputations than in 2018. When looking at new claims reports as a barometer of member safety, 2019 was more than 16% lower in new claims reports than in 2018. So congratulations to you (and the MTM loss control staff) for the significant safety improvements in 2019.

While there were business changes everywhere, one area of stability our members could count on was MTM. As MTM enters its 45th year of operation, the MTM Board, management team and staff remain focused on bringing unparalleled services and value to our members. When MTM makes company profits, those profits are returned to the people that made the profit – that would be MTM members. This will be the sixth year in a row where the MTM Board has declared dividends to our MTM members.

The third leg on the MTM success stool is the MTM staff. My congrats to them on a good year. MTM ended the year with no staff departures for the year. Let me put an emphasis on that sentence in saying that there have been no MTM staff departures since a staff retirement in 2013. Staff stability is an important part of bringing services to our members. We spend no time in training the new staff members. Staff history and historical knowledge are valuable components. We do take time for continuing education and upgrade training of existing staff on new services and techniques that should be considered for our MTM members. The MTM budget clearly shows a Board and management desire to continuously upgrade staff members skill sets.

So – in summary – thank you for the great loss results of 2019. At the next Board Committee meeting and full Board meeting the member owners will be dealing with the distribution of MTM profits from 2019. As in past years, I expect the checks will be cut on March 1st and delivered during the month of March.

Best Wishes for 2020. And I will see you soon while on my dividend delivery routes. I pray for snow free roads.

By Travis Halsted, Loss Control Consultant

During our daily discussions within MTMIC’s Loss Control team, we are constantly looking for ways to help our policyholders identify ways to be proactive and compliant with MIOSHA’s standards. One area that comes up quite often are confined spaces. Whether it be construction or general industry,

MIOSHA regularly cites infractions for these often overlooked areas. Through the 10 years I have been involved in workplace safety, I have found the confined space topic to be the most difficult topic to complete, discuss, teach and interpret. Is it a confined space? If so, is the area a permit required confined space? If it is a permit required confined space then am I able to eliminate the need for the permit? These are all great questions and they often leave people with their head spinning. In many cases, the person just ends up not completing the necessary items.

By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

The New Year has begun! Some people may make “New Year’s Resolutions” while some people want to start the new year with a clean slate, and consider the new year as an opportunity to “clean house”, purge and get organized!

As an employer this may be a good time to clean house, purge and get organized, not just physical cleaning but take the time to review and address your company policies and procedures. As the State of Michigan has now legalized marijuana, you might want to review your current drug policy. Do you have a policy? Does the legalization of marijuana have an impact on your current policy? Is your current policy now outdated? How can it be adjusted? What about drug screening for new hires vs. work injuries? Don’t forget, drug screening includes more than just screening for marijuana.