A new report found that one-third of companies who are hit with ransomware and pay the hackers to unlock their systems, are often likely to be targeted a second time.

And after they pay, they are often faced with significant consequences, including system rebuilding costs, their data still being leaked and financial consequences, according to the “2022 Cyber Readiness Report” by Hiscox. The eye-opening results of the study come as the number of businesses hit by cyber attacks continues growing.

Considering the potential damage to your organization if your systems are compromised in the aftermath of a ransomware attack, even if you have cyber insurance to pay recovery costs, it’s best to take steps to thwart attacks in the first place.

More than ransom

It’s clear that paying a ransom often doesn’t mean the recovery for an affected business will be smooth, according to the report, which covers the poll results of 5,000 organizations.

The risk

Nearly half (47%) of firms reported that they had been hit by a cyber attack during the past 12 months, up from 40% in 2021. Of those who were attacked, 17% were ransomware victims.
The median cost of an attack has risen 29% to just under $17,000.
Small firms can no longer expect to fly under the radar as the criminals increasingly have them in their sights.

 

What you can do

Some firms have little exposure to a cyber attack, particularly if they don’t handle customer data or are not techdriven operations. Each firm has a different exposure level.
For companies that have cyber exposure, protecting their organization requires a multi-pronged approach that includes cyber insurance and strong data security protocols.
Cyber insurance may cover the cost of a paid ransom as well as recovery and rebuilding costs. If your organization has exposure, please give us a call to review your risk and see if cyber insurance is right for your business.

Besides that, Hiscox recommends taking a number of steps to protect against an attack and be able to recover from one faster:

1. Keep all of your software up to date to include the installation of all the latest security patches.
2. Frequently back up your data on a server that is not hooked up to the cloud.
3. Train workers on how to recognize and avoid common social engineering attacks that criminals use to trick them into revealing sensitive information about themselves or their company.
4. Teach your staff how to detect potentially dangerous e-mails that try to get them to click on a malicious link that can unleash ransomware or other malware.

A slew of new laws and regulations that will affect California businesses are taking effect for 2023.

Last year was a busy one, with ground-breaking new laws on employee pay disclosures, a law prohibiting discrimination against cannabis-using employees and another expanding the circumstances when employees can take leave to care for a loved one. The following are the top 10 laws and regulations that employers in the Golden State need to stay on top of.

1.  Pay disclosure

This sweeping law in part requires more disclosure of pay information by employers. Under current law, employers are required to provide the pay scale for a position upon reasonable request by a job applicant. SB 1162 goes a step further by:

• Requiring employers, upon request by a current employee, to provide the pay scale of the position they are employed in.
• Requiring employers with 15 or more workers to include pay scale in any job postings for open positions.
• Requiring employers to maintain records of job titles and wage rate history for each employee while employed for the company, as well as three years after their employment ceases.

Note: The law defines “pay scale” as the salary or hourly wage range that the employer “reasonably expects” to pay for the position. Penalties range from $100 to $10,000 per violation. This law took effect Jan. 1, 2023.

 

 2.  State of emergency and staff

This new law, SB 1044, bars an employer, in the event of a state of emergency or emergency condition, from taking or threatening adverse action against workers who refuse to report to, or leave, a workplace because they feel unsafe. “Emergency condition” is defined as:

• Conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons or property caused by natural forces or a criminal act.
• An order to evacuate a workplace, worksite or worker’s home, or the school of a worker’s child due to a natural disaster or a criminal act.

SB 1044 also bars employers from preventing employees from using their mobile phones to seek emergency assistance, assess the safety of the situation or communicate with another person to confirm their safety. The law, which took effect Jan. 1, 2023, does not cover first responders and health care workers.

 

3. Cannabis use and discrimination

This law bars employers from discriminating in hiring, termination or other conditions of employment based on employees using cannabis while off duty. The bill’s author says the legislation is necessary because THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in marijuana, can stay in a person’s system after they are no longer impaired. As a result, drug testing may detect THC in an employee’s system even if they used it weeks earlier and it is having no effect on their job performance. AB 2188 does not require employers to permit employees to be high while working. The bill would exempt construction trade employees and would not preempt state or federal laws that require employees to submit to drug testing. This law takes effect Jan. 1, 2024.

4.  Leaves of absence

The California Family Rights Act and the state’s paid sick leave law allow employees to take leave to care for a family member, defined as a spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild or sibling. The definition has been expanded to include “any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is equivalent of a family relationship.”

5.  Contractor workers’ comp

Starting July 1, the following contractors must carry workers’ compensation coverage regardless of if they have employees or not:

• Concrete (C-8 license)
• Heating and air conditioning (C-20)
• Asbestos abatement (C-22), and
• Tree service (D-49).

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, all licensed contractors must have coverage.

6.  OSHA citation postings

Under current law, employers that receive citations and orders from OSHA are required to post them in or near the place the violation occurred, in order to warn employees about a potential hazard. Starting Jan. 1, 2023, they must post the notice not only in English, but also: Spanish, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean, Armenian and Punjabi.

7.  Permanent COVID standard

Cal/OSHA has a permanent COVID-19 prevention standard that will sunset in 2024. The new standard, which replaces the temporary emergency standard the agency had implemented, should provide more certainty for prevention procedures and practices. Here are the main takeaways:

• Employers are no longer required to pay employees while they are excluded from work due to COVID-19, or to screen employees daily.
• Employers must still notify and provide paid testing to employees who had a close contact in the workplace.
• Employers can now incorporate written COVID-19 procedures into their Injury and Illness Prevention Programs.

8.  CalSavers expanded

SB 1126 requires any person or entity with at least one employee to either provide them with access to a retirement program like a 401(k) plan or enroll them in the state-run CalSavers program. Prior to this new law only companies with five or more employees that do not offer a retirement plan are required to enroll their workers in CalSavers.

9.  Bereavement leave

Employers with five or more workers are required to provide up to five days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member, under a new law starting in 2023. This leave may be unpaid, but the law allows workers to use existing paid leave available to them, such as accrued vacation days, paid time off or sick leave. Employers are authorized to require documentation to support the request for leave.

10.  PFL wage replacement

This law was passed last year but does not take effect until 2025. Existing California law allows employees to apply for Paid Family Leave and State Disability Insurance, both of which provide partial wage replacement benefits when employees take time off work for various reasons under the California Family Rights Act. Starting in 2025, low-wage earners (those who earn up to 70% of the state average quarterly wage) will be eligible for a higher percentage of their regular wages under the state’s PFL and SDI benefit programs.

CONSTRUCTION FIRMS are reeling from snowballing costs of building materials due to spiking demand and supply chain snarls, which are resulting in massive budget cost overruns.
This is especially affecting construction businesses that are managing apartment or commercial projects. These cost overruns are imperiling profits – and risking red ink – on the projects after the contractors won carefully constructed bids.
Building materials and labor costs are going through the roof. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, construction costs spiked 17.5% year-over-year from 2020 to 2021, the largest increase in this data from year to year since 1970. And 2021’s costs were more than 23% higher than pre-COVID-19 pandemic 2019.
Many of the materials used in the construction of apartment and commercial buildings, including concrete, flat glass, and steel products are affected by volatile prices, with steel seeing a more than 123% increase in costs in the past year.

The fallout

With the prices of materials climbing rapidly, it’s easy for project costs to quickly exceed expectations and sink a project if those costs break the profit margin and force a loss. To avoid this fate, construction firms need to be proactive and put in place procedures for dealing with materials cost increases, supply chain disruptions, and a shortage of capable manpower. It could mean the difference between turning a modest profit or losing their shirt.
There are steps that contractors can take to avoid that fate. In an article on the website Construction Dive, Ripley Bickerstaff related what Hoar Construction, where he works as director of business development in Nashville, is doing to reduce the risks of price shocks and materials shortages so that builders can keep projects on track and in the black.

Don’t delay

Bickerstaff also recommends ordering items as early as possible, not just when needed. Due to supply chain issues, some items require a year lead time from order to delivery.
This way, you can lock in the price ahead of time. Even if it’s an item you’ll need for later in the project, considering the rapid pace of price increases, it’s best to order in advance so
you avoid being hit with higher prices later. This can protect your profit margin.
Additionally, the general contractor should work with architects and designers of the project to identify which materials they should order and which ones make sense in the current cost environment.
This can also give the builder time to shop around and find deals on similar or comparable items made of different materials to save money. Contractors that order materials early will have to arrange for storage as well. So securing warehouse space should be a priority.

Secure your workforce, subs early

With demand for construction workers and contractors exceeding supply, general contractors have to get in line and book them early.
For example, in some markets, electrical contractors are booking projects as far as a year out. Builders should secure subcontractors in advance to give them time to book their crews and order the materials they’ll need.
“Many builders are now shooting to lock in 70% of costs prior to construction documents, which should minimize the chances of double-digit material price hikes after a developer closes their
loan,” Bickerstaff writes.

The takeaway

Working on a large construction project now requires greater foresight and planning. You’ll need to price in factors you normally may not consider to ensure that you can meet your project budget and turn a profit.

THE WAY courts have interpreted a California law – the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which has been on the books for 18 years – has led to an explosion of lawsuits against employers during the last few years.

The law has generated more than 20,000 lawsuits since 2017 at an average cost of $1.1 million per case, according to one study.

PAGA permits employees to sue for civil penalties on behalf of themselves, fellow workers and the state for alleged labor code violations. If a suit is successful, the state receives 75% of the damages with the employee receiving the balance.
As a result, California employers face increasing litigation uncertainty that traditional insurance may do little to mitigate.
The employee in essence acts as the state’s watchdog; he or she need not suffer any actual harm from an alleged violation in order to file a lawsuit. One employee has the ability to file a suit alleging multiple labor code violations.
The result? An average of 15 PAGA notice letters arrive at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency daily.

How did we get here?

The law was enacted in 2004 to improve California Labor Code enforcement by empowering employees to pursue violations when the state has insuffi cient resources to pursue them.
The growth in litigation started after a California Supreme Court decision in 2009, holding that PAGA suits did not have to meet the certification requirements that apply to class-action lawsuits.
Litigation activity jumped significantly again in 2014 after the state Supreme Court held that employees could not waive their rights to fi le PAGA claims when they reach arbitration agreements in disputes with their employers.
Three years later, the court ruled that employees were generally entitled to request and receive large amounts of information from employers early in the litigation.
The high cost of providing the information gives employers an incentive to settle claims quickly.
Finally, an appellate court ruling in 2018 gave employees the right to sue over alleged violations that do not directly affect them, so long as at least one violation does.

What’s being claimed?

 

PAGA claims can also involve allegations of discrimination, retaliation and failure to protect the health and safety of employees. There are even COVID-19-related claims. One allegation triggers multiple other ones related to the first, such as failure to pay all earned wages, failure to pay wages in a timely manner, and so on. One potential bright spot: In December 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider whether California employers may enter voluntary agreements with employees in which the employee agrees to pursue only their individual claim and
not bring a PAGA claim. A decision is expected this summer.

Insurance implications

One issue for employers is that employment practices liability insurance typically won’t cover wage and hour disputes or signifi cantly sublimit the amount of coverage available for defense costs only.
Also, EPLI policies usually carve out coverage for wage and hour claims under PAGA representative actions.

Directors and officers liability policies exclude wage and hour claims.
One option is wage and hour insurance, which most likely would provide defense and indemnity coverage for PAGA claims that allege violations of wage and hour laws and regulations.
However, these policies are expensive and usually have quite high retentions, which could price out most smaller employers.

THE DEADLINE is fast approaching for employers with five or more workers in California, and who do not already off er their employees a retirement plan, to register their staff for the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program.

Only California employers that do not off er retirement plans are required to register for CalSavers and there are different registration deadlines depending on employer size, staggered over a few years as follows:

Employers with 100 or more workers – The deadline for registration was June 30, 2020.
Employers with 50 or more workers – The deadline for registration was June 30, 2021.
Employers with five or more workers – The deadline for registration is June 30, 2022.

Employers can register anytime to start the program for their workers. Firms with fewer than five employees are exempt, but they too can sign their workers up for CalSavers.

Employers that don’t provide a retirement plan for their workers, and who fail to register, can face a penalty of $250 per employee, as well as additional penalties for sustained noncompliance.

If you already have a qualified retirement plan for your employees, you do not have to participate.

 

How CalSavers works

Participating employers will deduct a default rate of 5% of pay from the paycheck of each employee at least 18 years old and deposit it into the individual’s CalSavers account. Employees can choose other rates as well.

Employee participation is voluntary, and they can opt out at any time. Regardless of whether any employees want to sign up for a plan, applicable employers are required to register and offer the program to all current employees and new hires.

The deduction amount will automatically escalate one percentage point each year to a maximum of 8%, unless the individual employee elects a different amount, elects out of autoescalation or completely opts out of the program.

Business owners who are employees of their business can also participate. Business owners who are not employees may enroll as an individual and make automatic contributions every month. There are no costs for businesses to sign up and facilitate the program for their employees.

Employers can register here. Once set up and employees have signed up, the employer will be responsible for taking off the chosen deduction for each employee and transferring it to CalSavers at each pay period.

For employees

A CalSavers account is a personal Roth Individual Retirement Account (Roth IRA) overseen by the CalSavers Retirement Savings Investment Board.

Here’s some information employees need to know:
• A portion of their pay is automatically deducted after taxes are taken out and transferred to an IRA that belongs to them.
• Employees can customize their account by setting their own contribution rate (between 1% and 8%), as well as choose the investments they want to put their money in.
• The account is portable: They keep it if they leave their job.

 

ONE OF the biggest challenges construction businesses face is preventing subcontractors’ and suppliers’ poor or non-existent safety practices from denting their own safety program.
While you may consider a number of factors when vetting a new subcontractor or vendor, one area that is often overlooked is their workplace safety practices.
This mistake can cost you dearly if one of their workers causes an incident at your worksite. In addition to an injury to one of your own employees, you could get a visit from an Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector.

The National Safety Council’s Campbell Institute recently conducted a study of organizations with excellent safety records to identify the best practices for subcontractor and vendor safety.

As part of the study it identified five steps during a contractor or vendor relationship when it’s incumbent on a hiring company to evaluate the workplace safety habits of their business partners.

Prequalification

The institute recommends looking at more than just a company’s experience modifi cation rate. It says safety-minded fi rms assess subcontractors in multiple areas, such as their total recordable incident rate, fatality rate, days away from work for injured workers, restricted or transferred rate, and other OSHA recordables for the last three years.

Many firms also ask for environmental reports, written safety programs, permits, licenses, and continuous improvement programs.

Pre-job task and risk assessment

Before a subcontractor begins work, institute members recommend having a method for evaluating the risk of the work that is to be performed. Doing this can help you understand the scope of the work and give you a chance to put into place a new written safety program if the risk is deemed high.
Most importantly, subcontractors should be required to adhere to the same safety standards as your company.

Training and orientation

You should require safety orientation and skills training for subcontractors before they step onto your jobsite. Also, if they are doing highly specifi c work, you should ensure they have any required permits or special training. Some of the jobs that fit into that category are confi ned-space entry, electrical work, hot work, energy control, forklifts, and elevated work.

Job monitoring

Many safety-minded companies monitor work with daily checklists, pre-shift tailgate or safety meetings and weekly walkthrough inspections. Some of the companies surveyed for the study also require contract employees to submit a certain amount of safety observations and utilize mobile applications to report non-compliance or unsafe conditions. Also, you need to keep up-to-date incident logs, as this is crucial to monitoring subcontractor safety during a project.

Post-job evaluation

Conduct a post-job evaluation. During this phase look at safety, customer service and the quality of the fi nished work, and use those factors in determining the subcontractor’s eligibility for future contracts.

WHILE RANSOMWARE is making the headlines as the major cyber threat, small and mid-sized businesses are increasingly being targeted by lower fraud that dupes them into wiring criminals funds, according to a new report.

These funds transfer fraud crimes involve hackers gaining access to a firm’s mailbox and extracting payments that go into their accounts. Companies should have in place proper systems safeguards to combat these attacks, and that includes regularly training staff on how to identify these attempts to steal funds.

How it works

Criminals will often try to penetrate your servers by sending “spearphishing” e-mails. These messages look like they’re from a trusted sender to trick victims into revealing confidential information. They may also send malicious e-mails in the hope that an employee clicks on a bogus link. The link then releases malicious software that infi ltrates company networks and gains
access to legitimate e-mail threads about billing and invoices.
Once the criminals have access to your business mailbox, they can manipulate your contacts and modify payment instructions. They may also use their access to your systems to send e-mails that appear to come from a known source making a legitimate request.

 

 

 

Insurance options

The best option for coverage is a commercial crime insurance policy. Most of these policies cover acts like:
• Employee dishonesty
• Computer and funds transfer fraud
• Forgery or alteration
• Money and securities theft
• Theft of client’s property.

Some policies may exclude funds transfer fraud, or they may have lower sublimits for such acts. In such cases you may need to get a policy extension to cover the risk. There is also cyber liability insurance, which covers direct losses resulting from cyber crime. But these policies will often exclude coverage for social engineering attacks, which are the kinds that the criminals behind funds transfer fraud use. You may be able to purchase a rider to your cyber liability policy that would cover these crimes.

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY insurance rates are continuing to climb, as the segment faces a number of headwinds that have pushed claims costs to new heights.
A number of factors are affecting rates, including the frequency and severity of extreme weather claims. the cost of rebuilding, rates for commercial properties not keeping pace with claims costs, and more.
The end result has been a steady increase in property rates across the board, but businesses with operations in areas that are more susceptible to natural disasters are seeing the highest
increases.
As a business owner with commercial property, you’ve probably already seen rates increase, and you should be prepared for further rate hikes in the coming year. Here are the main drivers of these increases.

 

Mounting natural catastrophes

The number of natural catastrophes hitting the U.S. continues increasing as does the cost of those disasters, which are affecting more properties around the country.
Depending on the part of the nation a property is located it can be exposed to hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, hail, flooding and more.
There has also been an increase in civil unrest, which often results in property damage to businesses.
Insured property losses in the U.S. hit $74.4 billion in 2020, the second-most expensive year on record.
Also, last year set the record for the most major natural catastrophe events to hit the U.S. in a single year (22 of them).
Five of the 10 most expensive catastrophe years for the insurance industry have occurred since 2011.

 

Reconstruction costs

Reconstruction costs have skyrocketed during the past five years, averaging 5% a year, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Lumber prices rose by 73% between April 2020 and July 2021, greatly increasing rebuilding costs. On top of that, iron and steel products jumped 15% in price during the same period, and steel mill products by nearly 7%.

 

Construction labor shortage

The construction industry faces a serious labor crunch. And many firms have backlogs that stretch out more than six months.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index, this shortage is leading to real-world setbacks for contractors:

• 68% of contractors say they are asking workers to do more work.
• 56% report a challenge in meeting project schedules.
• 50% of contractors are putting in higher bids.
• Over a third (35%) report turning down work due to skilled labor shortages.

 

Property rates are inadequate

Despite the fact that rates have been increasing for the last five years, insurers are still struggling to keep up with the rapidly rising cost of claims as well as the number of claims they are seeing.
Those factors have made it difficult for the industry to peg pricing at the right level, resulting in a string of losses in property insurance for most carriers.
As the industry struggles to get back to profitability, insurers will have to continue boosting rates.

 

Reinsurance rates

A portion of the property insurance rate gains can be attributed to insurance companies dealing with higher reinsurance costs.
Insurers buy reinsurance to pass on claims costs from catastrophic events, in order to reduce their overall risk.

 

The takeaway

There are some steps that businesses can take to try to affect their premiums.
If you have an older building, you can replace your mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems with newer, code-compliant variants.
Safeguard your building against location-specific hazards (for example, creating a defensible space and using fire-resistant roofing in wildfire areas and upgraded cladding in hurricane areas).
Also, electrical fires are the number-one cause of property damage, so you should consider installing fire-protection systems such as sprinklers and fire hose cabinets.

EVERY YEAR starts with a flurry of new laws and regulations that California employers have to contend with.
And 2022 is no different as the California legislature had a busy year and the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more activity. The end result is another round of new laws that employers need to stay on top of so they don’t run afoul of them.
With no further ado, here are the top regulations and laws affecting California businesses.

 

1. Big change to Cal/OSHA citations

SB 606 adds two new Cal/OSHA violation categories for purposes of citations and abatement orders: “enterprisewide” and “egregious” violations. Cal/OSHA can issue an enterprise-wide citation that would require abating the violation at all locations. And the employer can face a maximum penalty of $124,709 per violation.
The law also authorizes the agency to issue a citation for an egregious violation if it believes that an employer has “willfully and egregiously” violated a standard or order. Each instance of employee exposure to that violation will be considered a separate violation and fined accordingly.

 

2. Permanent COVID standard

On Sept. 17, 2021, Cal/OSHA released a draft text for proposed permanent COVID-19 regulations, which if adopted would be subject to renewal or expiration after two years and would replace the current emergency temporary standard, which is set to expire Jan. 14, 2022.
Adoption is expected in the spring of 2022. Here’s some of what the draft standard would do:

CDPH rules – It would require that employers follow California Department of Public Health COVID-19 prevention orders.
Masks for unvaxxed staff – Unvaccinated staff must wear masks. Employers must provide masks when the CDPH requires them.
Outbreak rules – During an outbreak in the workplace, all staff would be required to wear face coverings regardless of vaccination status. Employers would need to provide respirators during major outbreaks to all employees.

 

3. COVID exposure notification

On Oct. 5, 2021, AB 654 took effect, updating requirements for what an employer must do if there is an outbreak of COVID-19 cases at its worksites.
This law somewhat curtailed earlier outbreak-reporting requirements as well as other required notifications for certain employers, and updated several provisions of the 2020 outbreak notification law, AB 685.
Here are some highlights:

• Employers have one business day or 48 hours, whichever is later, to report a workplace COVID-19 outbreak to Cal/OSHA and local health authorities.
• Employers do not need to issue these notices on weekends and holidays.
• When an employer has multiple worksites, it only needs to notify employees who work at the same worksite as an employee who tests positive for  coronavirus.
• The new definition of “worksites” for the purposes of the law has been changed to exclude telework.

 

4. Expansion of the California Family Rights Act

AB 1033 expands the CFRA to allow employees to take family and medical leave to care for a parent-in-law with a serious health condition.
More importantly, it adds a requirement that mediation is a prerequisite if a small employer (one with between five and 19 workers) is the subject of a civil complaint filed by one of its employees.

 

5. Workplace settlement agreements and NDCs

A new law took effect Jan. 1 that bars employers from requiring non-disclosure clauses in settlement agreements involving workplace harassment or discrimination claims of all types. This builds on prior law that barred NDCs only in cases of sex discrimination or sexual harassment.
The new law expands that prohibition to all protected classes, such as: race, religion, disability, gender, age, and more.
One important note: While employees can’t be prohibited from discussing the facts of the case, employers can still use clauses that prohibit the disclosure of the amount paid to settle a claim.

 

6. OSHA vaccine mandate

As of this writing, Fed-OSHA’s new emergency COVID-19 standard was set to take effect on Jan. 1, with the most contentious part of the rule mandating that employees who work for employers with 100 or more staff be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing.
Unvaccinated workers would also be required to wear masks while on the job under the new rules, which have faced fierce challenges in courts.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District recently reversed a stay of the order as challenges to it are litigated, meaning the order can take effect as scheduled as the legal process challenging the rule proceeds.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear expedited arguments Jan. 8 on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s decision to lift the Fifth Circuit’s stay.

 

7. Wage theft penalties

AB 1003, which took effect Jan. 1, added a new penalty to the California Penal Code: Grand Theft of Wages. The new law makes an employer’s intentional theft of wages (including tips) of more than $950 from one employee, or $2,350 for two or more workers, punishable as grand theft.
The law, which also applies to wage theft from independent contractors, allows for recovery of wages through a civil action.
As a result, employers (and potentially managers and business owners) would be exposed to both criminal and civil liability for wage and hour violations like failing to pay staff accurately and in a timely manner.
Review your compensation policies and practices to make sure you are in compliance with current wage and hour laws.

 

8. COVID cases may be included in X-Mods

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has proposed plans to start requiring COVID-19 claims to be included when calculating employers’ X-Mods.
The proposal, which would have to be approved by the state insurance commissioner, would bring to an end current rules that exclude the impact of COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims on X-Mods.
If approved, the new rule would take effect on Sept. 1, 2022. That means that employers will be held accountable for COVID19-related workers’ compensation claims and, if any employee needs treatment or dies from the coronavirus, it could result in higher premiums in the future.

 

9. Notices can be e-mailed

A new state law authorizes employers to distribute required posters and notices to employees via e-mail. SB 657 adds e-mail as a delivery option to the list of acceptable notification methods, which also includes mail.
Required posters and notices will still need to be physically posted in the workplace.

 

10. Warehouse quota rules

A new law that took effect Jan. 1 makes California the first (and only) state to regulate quotas used by warehouse employers.
While the bill was written with Amazon Inc. in mind, it affects all warehouses with 100 or more workers, and violations of the new law can be costly for an employer.
Under AB 701, warehouse employees must be provided with a written description of the quotas to which they are subject within 30 days of hire. Common quotas include the number of tasks the employee is required to perform, the materials to be produced or handled, and any adverse employment action that may result from a failure to meet the quota.

 

While employers may still implement quotas, employees are not required to meet a quota if it:

• Prevents them from taking required meal or rest periods,
• Prevents them from using the bathroom (including the time it takes to walk to and from the toilet), or
• Contravenes occupational health and safety laws. The law also bars employers from discriminating, retaliating or taking other adverse action against an employee who:
• Initiates a request for information about a quota or personal work-speed data, or
• Files a complaint alleging a quota violated the Labor Code.

 

SOME BUSINESSES are finding fewer insurers willing to write their policies for certain types of coverage that are seeing rapidly rising claims costs, particularly in liability lines as well as property insurance in areas with exposure to natural catastrophes.
When no insurers that are licensed in California are willing to write a policy, we as your agent have to go to another market made up of insurance companies that are not licensed or regulated by the state.
It’s called the surplus lines (or “non-admitted”) market, and it can be a valuable alternative for insurance buyers.
As insurers get more selective writing some risks, it’s important for you as an insurance buyer to understand this market.

Why use a non-admitted carrier?

The most well-known non-admitted insurer is Lloyd’s of London, famous for insuring insurance companies and celebrities’ or sports figures’ body parts and global sporting events. Often non-admitted insurance companies are located in other states or domiciled abroad, like Bermuda or another tax-haven country.
Unlike licensed insurance companies, non-admitted companies do not have to obtain approval from state regulators for the policy forms they use or the rates they charge.

 

 

Since they are not regulated by the state, non-admitted insurers can offer creative coverage options and they can quickly and easily introduce new types of insurance that businesses need.
Some types of policies that are standard today, such as cyber insurance and employment practices liability insurance, got their start in the non-admitted market.
State laws typically permit a broker to obtain coverage from a non-admitted insurer only if at least a few standard insurance companies refuse to offer coverage. However, most also have coverage options that are not available in the standard market.
When someone needs one of the latter coverages, no rejections from licensed companies are required. An example might be liability insurance for contractors who demolish buildings.

Risks

There are risks to purchasing insurance in the non-admitted market. Policies may provide less coverage than do standard policies, or there may be restrictions on when coverage applies. Policies should be reviewed carefully. Also, because the insurers can charge whatever they feel is appropriate, premiums can be higher than you may expect. The policies may also be exempt from state laws regarding notices of cancellation and non-renewal.
Also, in every state but one (New Jersey), non-admitted policies are not backed by a guaranty fund. Guaranty funds cover claims left unpaid when an insurer is unable to pay for them. If a non-admitted company becomes insolvent, the policyholder has no recourse.

The takeaway

Despite the risks, the non-admitted market serves an important function, giving buyers a place to get needed coverage that would be otherwise unavailable.
Those who think they may need to tap this market should consult with us to find the right coverage at an acceptable price.