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March 2007 Employers Must Post Illness/Injury Summaries Beginning Feb. 1, 2007 WASHINGTON -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today reminded employers that beginning Feb. 1, they must post a summary of the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred during 2006. Employers are only required to post OSHA Form 300A (summary), not the OSHA 300 log. The summary must be posted from Feb. 1 to April 30, 2007. "This is an excellent time for employers to review their 300 logs and determine where injuries and illnesses are occurring and determine a strategy to reduce and hopefully eliminate these safety and health hazards," said OSHA Administrator Ed Foulke. The summary must list the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2006 and were logged on the OSHA 300 form. Information about the annual average number of employees and total hours worked during the calendar year is also required to assist in calculating incidence rates. Companies with no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2006 must post the form with zeroes on the total line. All summaries must be certified by a company executive. The form is to be displayed in a common area wherever notices to employees are usually posted. A copy of the summary must be made available to employees who move from worksite to worksite, such as construction employees and employees who do not report to any fixed establishment on a regular basis. Employers with ten or fewer employees and employers in certain industry groups are normally exempt from federal OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping and posting requirements. A complete list of exempt industries in the retail, services, finance and real estate sectors is posted on the OSHA Web site. Exempted employers may still be selected by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics to participate in an annual statistical survey. All employers covered by OSHA need to comply with safety and health standards and must report verbally within eight hours to the nearest OSHA office all accidents that result in one or more fatalities or in the hospitalization of three or more employees. Copies of the OSHA Forms 300 and 300A are available on the OSHA Recordkeeping Web page in either Adobe PDF or Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet format. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov. Source: OSHA RIMS 2007 Tackles Key Issues Facing
Risk Management Industry NEW YORK, N.Y., February 20, 2007 – This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) Annual Conference & Exhibition. On April 29–May 3, thousands of key decision-makers from the risk and insurance community will convene in New Orleans for five days of educational sessions, industry information and networking. Complete details on the conference are on the web at www.RIMS.org/RIMS2007. “RIMS is a leading force for the risk management community,” says Michael Liebowitz, RIMS president and director of insurance and risk management at New York University. “The conference brings together the industry’s brightest stars for a meeting of the minds. RIMS 2007 is where risk managers’ priorities are set, long-standing relationships are cultivated and ground-breaking ideas are born.” Keynote speakers include Dr. Michael Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, who will explore what risk managers can expect from the next pandemic crisis in his presentation titled Bracing for a Pandemic: What You Need to Know and How You Can Prepare; David Maurstad, Director of FEMA's Mitigation Division and Federal Insurance Administrator, will share successes and lessons learned in the wake of last year's unprecedented storm season in Government's Role in Mitigating Risk: New Orleans and Beyond; and David Holcombe, CPCU, Director of Risk Management for International Speedway Corporation (NASCAR), will address his company’s efforts to manage risk in Driving Risk Management on the Speedway. Returning to the conference is a special event that had much success last year—the CEO Leadership Panel—where CEOs of leading insurers and brokers will engage in a dialogue on key issues affecting risk managers in today's business environment and how the big firms are responding in terms of processes and solutions. Panelists include the CEOs of ACE USA, AIG, Aon Corp., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., FM Global, Marsh & McLennan Co’s., Willis Group Holdings and Zurich. RIMS 2007 will follow in the tradition of providing a high-quality educational experience for attendees. A main focus of this year’s conference will be Enterprise Risk Management with approximately 20 sessions focusing on the topic, an ERM Bootcamp and an introductory session on applying the newly-launched RIMS Risk Maturity Model for ERM. Some 400 expert speakers will lead sessions in the areas of claims management, employment risks, ERM, finance, insurance, legal legislation, loss control, and risk management. Additional sessions will be customized for various industries and aspects of doing business and managing risks internationally. Recently identified “Hot Topic” sessions are Lost in Translation—International Risk and Compliance Challenging Global Companies and Catastrophe Modeling and Climate Change—Risk Management Challenges. These sessions offer attendees the timeliest content based on current industry news. Two offsite sessions will take RIMS members to the New Orleans Museum of Art and Harrah’s New Orleans to explore how these facilities were able to bounce-back after Hurricane Katrina. RIMS Exhibit Hall will feature close to 400 exhibitors, offering tools and services to assist and provide solutions to risk managers’ needs. There are more than 55 new companies exhibiting this year. Traditionally, exhibitors use the conference as a platform to announce important company news, launch products and publicize changes in senior management. Annually, RIMS Annual Conference & Exhibition attracts up to 10,000 senior-level risk and insurance professionals, brokers, insurers and solution providers for the ultimate networking experience. Kicking off RIMS 2007 is a grand opening reception featuring a casino decor and signature rhythms from the James Bond films. Other networking events include the Spencer Educational Foundation, Inc. annual golf and tennis tournament fundraisers. Also, RIMS has specially organized two events to provide support for the rebuilding efforts of New Orleans and the neighboring communities. RIMS has partnered with Beacon of Hope Resource Center to develop RIMS 2007 Community Service Day where attendees will lend a hand to paint homes, clean and clear yards of overgrown weeds, dead shrubbery and trees to aid residents of a local neighborhood. The RIMS Comedy Benefit, featuring award-winning comedian and television personality Dennis Miller, will host 4,000 delegates at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. RIMS is reaching out to exhibitors to donate funds to the benefit, from which the proceeds will be used to purchase much-needed fire trucks for New Orleans. “RIMS is proud to support New Orleans and play a role in celebrating the revival of the city,” says Liebowitz. “There isn’t a more fitting destination for RIMS 2007. Here, attendees can truly learn how to prioritize and best safeguard their businesses.” Full details and registration is available on the web at www.RIMS.org/RIMS2007. The deadline for the Early Bird discount is February 23. Accredited press can obtain a press pass by contacting Felicia Messimer, RIMS communications associate, at fmessimer@RIMS.org or (212) 655-6059. About the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the practice of risk management, a professional discipline that protects physical, financial and human resources. Founded in 1950, RIMS represents nearly 4,000 industrial, service, nonprofit, charitable, and governmental entities. The Society serves 10,000 risk management professionals around the world. For more information, visit www.RIMS.org Source: InsuranceNewsNet U.S. Labor Department's OSHA Proposes Over $191,000 in Penalties for Construction Company's Failure to Report Injuries at TVA Plants ATLANTA -- The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a Massachusetts based construction company and proposed penalties totaling $191,700, for failing to properly record injuries and illnesses at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) nuclear plants in Tennessee and Alabama. "OSHA's investigation revealed that the company failed to record a total of 84 incidents involving company maintenance worker injuries at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Athens, Ala.; Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Soddy Daisy, Tenn.; and Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Spring City, Tenn.," said OSHA's regional administrator in Atlanta. Officials from the TVA, which operates the three facilities, contacted OSHA when they noticed discrepancies on the OSHA 300 Log used to record work-related injuries and illnesses. OSHA regulations require employers, with few exemptions, to maintain accurate records of fatalities, injuries and illnesses and post a summary of these incidents each year at job sites. The company received one willful citation, with a proposed penalty of $63,000, for failing to record injuries and illnesses in 2004, 2005 and 2006 at the Browns Ferry site and $1,800 in proposed penalties for failing to accurately record injuries that resulted in days away from work and restricted work activity at the facility. OSHA also proposed a $63,000 penalty for similar willful recordkeeping violations for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 at Sequoyah and 2004 and 2006 at Watts Bar. In addition, the Watts Bar plant received a proposed $900 penalty for failing to record an injury that resulted in restricted work activity. Data from the OSHA 300 Log is used to identify workplace safety and health problems and helps the agency to implement programs to abate the associated hazards. The information is also used for the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics' Annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, the nation's primary source of occupational injury and illness data. The company has 15 working days to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The sites were inspected by staff from OSHA's area offices in Birmingham, AL and Nashville, TN. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information about recordkeeping requirements and other safe work practices, visit www.osha.gov. Source: OSHA Insurance Company Run-Off Management Strategies Face Obstacles, Study Says The U.S. insurance industry should be paying greater attention to the run-off market, according to a study published by PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) Insurance Restructuring Group. The "US Discontinued Insurance Business Survey" noted that although the market has an estimated $150 billion to $200 billion in reserves, run-off as a stand-alone business is less mature. Furthermore, recent high-profile exits from the U.S. underwriting market have put a spotlight on liabilities being held by insurance companies to meet their obligations from legacy underwriting ("run-off liabilities"), PwC said. To get a better understanding of the current trends in run-off management, PwC asked a group of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance companies with discontinued insurance operations across the United States about their run-off management strategy and their plans for this business. The study indicated that companies are having success strategizing plans for managing their run-off, but are facing obstacles with the implementation of effective operational plans to meet these goals. A key factor that measures whether run-off liabilities are a primary focus for an insurance organization is the extent to which separate strategic plans and financial forecasts have been created for the run-off operations, PwC said. More than eight in 10 (83 percent) of respondents in the study indicated that strategic plans are in place for their run-off operations. In most cases, those plans are supported by financial forecasts, and management and staff are measured by whether they attain the goals set out in the financial model. "Run-off is clearly a major industry in its own right," said Andrew Rothseid, partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers and author of the report. "The survey results indicate that the industry is dealing with some aspects of run-off management fairly well while struggling to gain the support of reinsurers to meet their goals of early closure." When asked what their top strategic goals are, eight in 10 respondents (almost 80 percent) hoped to gain finality to assumed exposures. Removal of volatility from their portfolios and minimizing claims settlement amounts were also named key goals. Other major findings included:
While the majority of respondents indicated that their run-off strategy is supported by a plan and financial model, 67 percent of respondents noted that they are not required to file their run-off plans with regulators. Despite the desire to achieve finality, respondents acknowledged difficulties in doing so. Respondents noted they face challenges in attaining successful conclusion of their run-off exposures such as:
Source: Insurance Journal National Safety Group Supports 2008 OSHA Budget Des Plaines, Ill.-based The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) said it supports the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) budget request for fiscal year 2008 of $490.3 million and intends to support efforts to achieve funding levels from Congress. "OSHA budgets in recent years have not adequately kept up with inflation and this proposal is a positive effort to help OSHA meet its statutory obligations to protect workers," ASSE President Donald S. Jones Sr., said. "This budget proposal is a meaningful increase, especially for enforcement and cooperative programs, and is a positive effort to help OSHA meet its statutory obligations to protect workers." Adding to OSHA's enforcement capabilities will result in needed increases in inspections and the staff to conduct them, Jones said. "We applaud OSHA's Assistant Secretary of Labor Edwin G. Foulke Jr. for making enforcement the centerpiece of his budget proposal," Jones said. "We also believe that support by OSHA for cooperative programs such as the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) has had a major positive impact on safety in the workplace. By recognizing those work sites for their enhanced safety and health performance instills pride and enhances a company's positive reputation. It also results in significant reductions in injuries and illnesses." The VPP program has shown that cooperative commitments can work. ASSE supports this expansion of staff and funding as outlined in the budget to help achieve that. OSHA's efforts to reach out to employers with ideas and tools aimed at increasing their commitment to safety and health has created a more positive climate to attain safety while not lessening OSHA's commitment to enforcement. However, ASSE does oppose the Administration's effort to end funding for Harwood training grants. The Administration's continued effort to end these grants is misdirected. They should be seen as another positive cooperative approach to expanding support for safety and health in the workplace. ASSE identifies itself as the largest and oldest professional safety organization. Its more than 30,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries including insurance, government, labor and education. Source: Insurance Journal Older News...
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