Comp Quotes | winter 2020

SAIF accepting electronic signatures on policy-related documents

To make doing business with SAIF easier, we are now accepting electronic signatures on all policy-related documents. This includes Notice of Election forms, Group Enrollment forms, ERM-14 forms, and other policy-related documents that require signatures from policyholders.

All electronically signed policy documents submitted to SAIF should include the signature certification page generated by e-sign apps, such as DocuSign and Adobe e-Sign.

Note: e-signatures will be accepted on policy-related documents only. Claim-related documents cannot be submitted with an electronic signature at this time.

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NCCI’s new ERM-14 form goes into effect Feb. 1

The changes NCCI has made to the ERM-14 form include reducing the length of the form from four pages to a more concise two, as well as clarifying the form's language so it is easier to understand. The new form remains downloadable and may still be emailed, faxed, or sent through the U.S. mail.

There will be no changes at this time to the process of submitting the ERM-14 to SAIF, and we will accept electronic signatures on it. (See the article above for more on electronic signatures.)

The new form is effective February 1 and replaces the old one as of that date. So please be sure to use the new version of the ERM-14 when asking a policyholder to complete and sign.

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New WCD civil penalty amounts went into effect Jan. 1

A law that went into effect January 1 changes the civil penalties the Workers’ Compensation Division can assess.

Under it, WCD can

• Establish separate limits for employers and insurers who induce workers not to report their injuries
• Increase the per-violation penalty cap for insurers, self-insured employers, and service companies who fail to pay assessments or comply with the law
• Revise the total (aggregated) penalty cap for employers (except self-insured employers) and managed care organizations who fail to pay assessments or comply with the law

To see details, including the new amounts, read the WCD notice.

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Multilanguage notice now required when offering modified work

Last summer, DCBS introduced a new requirement that multilingual notices be included with any correspondence to the worker that could impact benefits. It’s a one-page insert that we now send with all official notices, telling the worker in multiple languages that this piece of mail is important and can impact benefits. The ombudsman’s contact information is included.

This can also impact employers. When they’re presenting a formal bonified job offer (BJO) letter to a worker, this one-page insert must be attached.

Read the bulletin that discusses this requirement.   

At the very bottom of the bulletin is a link to the actual multilingual notice (form 5377). Again, all they need to do to comply is attach the multilingual notice to any BJO sent to the worker. As always, we’re here and happy to help! If you have any questions or need assistance with the BJO process, please reach out to your return-to-work consultant.

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How does SAIF select policies for premium audit?

Agents and policyholders sometimes ask why some employers are audited while others are not, and what criteria is evaluated to make the selection. Our priority when selecting policies for audits is to ensure we are meeting the requirements in Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR).

One of those rules states that for all policies with an annual standard premium of $10,000 or more, the carrier must perform a field audit at least annually. Of course, there is an exception to the rule—if two audits in a row result in a less than five percent premium difference, the carrier is allowed to audit every third year. However, if an audit creates a premium difference greater than five percent, then the policy returns to being audited annually until there are two consecutive years with less than a five percent premium difference.

Audit selection is also determined by an OAR that requires carriers to perform field audits of at least five percent of all policies that produce an annual standard premium of less than $10,000 but more than $1,000. For SAIF, this equals about 1,500 policies audited each year.

For combinable policies, sometimes not all policies are handled in a similar fashion. For example, we might have only one of a handful of combinable policies over $10,000 in premium; in this case we would assign only the compliance audit, and the remaining policies would likely not be audited. If an employer prefers us to audit all policies, not just one, please contact the SAIF premium audit department (800.285.8525).

We also perform some audits not required by law. Those “discretionary” audits are based on a variety of factors, such as premium size, classifications, prior policy history, and prior audit results. If an employer would like to know why they were selected for audit, they can ask their premium auditor, or they can contact SAIF.

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Investing in return-to-work now pays off even more

Did you know the state of Oregon has unique and creative programs with financial incentives that help employers bring injured employees back to work? One of these is the Employer-at-Injury Program, or EAIP.

EAIP is undergoing some important changes in 2020:

• The EAIP wage subsidy reimbursements are increasing to 50% of gross earnings for up to 66 days of light duty.
• The Workers' Benefit Fund assessment is decreasing to 2.2 cents per hour worked.
• For equipment purchases, additional documentation is needed. This includes the start date of light-duty work, and how much the wages and hours worked will be. This change helps make sure EAIP purchases are appropriate.

EAIP benefits are designed to support employers when offering light-duty or modified work for their injured workers. When a worker returns to light duty, they maintain a connection with their employer, their rate of recovery may improve, and disability resulting from the incident may be reduced.

For employers, the program can help mitigate significant costs in claims and can lead to reductions in premiums. Returning employees to work mitigates indirect costs, which are anywhere from five to 52 times the cost of insurance. These noninsurance costs include rehiring, overtime, and retraining expenses.

SAIF’s return-to-work staff fulfills our mission of meeting needs of both workers and employers in the recovery process. Accessing the program requires the employer's consent and is voluntary.

By encouraging employers to participate in EAIP, you can contribute to their bottom line in managing workers’ comp costs. For more information contact any SAIF RTW consultant; Rob Wallace, EAIP supervisor at 503.373.8307; or Jenny Bates, RTW services manager at 503.315.3710.

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Esteemed safety director Chuck Easterly is retiring

No single person has had more of an impact on SAIF’s safety and health efforts than Chuck Easterly.

For 18 years, Chuck—director of our Safe and Healthy Workplace Center—managed our vision to make Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work. He is retiring in April.

Due to Chuck’s dedication, that goal is closer. Thousands of workers have avoided injury and an untold number are alive today because of him.

He lists his favorite accomplishments as:

• Creating and sustaining a safety consultant training program
• Codeveloping the SIM4® training system with Safety In Motion®, Inc.
• Launching our Total Worker Health^® program and becoming the first insurance company in the nation to be a NIOSH Total Worker Health^® Affiliate
• Influencing SAIF to adapt the safety and health team’s vision, “making Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work,” as the company’s vision

“Serving as the leader of SAIF’s safety and health team has been the greatest privilege of my professional career,” Chuck said. “It’s been an amazing honor to serve with such an outstanding group of people and see their impact throughout this state. I’ve also been blessed with tremendous support from our executive team, and I’m absolutely confident they will select a new leader who will continue to expand our ability to achieve our vision.”

Members of his staff have high praise for Chuck. “He is Oregon’s compass for Total Worker Health^®,” said one. And another added, “Chuck is a great balance of reality, humor, and being purely genuine. He’s a compassionate leader.”

A native of southern California, Chuck’s career in workplace safety began by helping to make the “Happiest place on Earth” the safest place on Earth. He left Disneyland for SAIF in 2002 and retires with a legacy of putting worker protection first.

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SAIF Learning Center moves to a new platform

As of December 2019, all current SAIF Learning Center users are being moved to a new platform provided by NEOGOV. They should be fully transitioned by January 31, 2020.

Policyholders’ information and history will be moved automatically and in small batches each week to accommodate behind-the-scenes programming. Employers will be unable to add new users during their transition week, and we will work to make that time as short as possible.

We will communicate this change with policyholders directly; agents do not need to take any action.

The new platform has a different look and provides more features. Some benefits are the ability to create new, professional-looking online courses; more control over access to courses; and the ability to take courses on mobile devices. The new platform still tracks course completion and allows users to keep training records.

If you have any questions, please contact learningcenter@saif.com.

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StriveSafe vehicle monitoring system update

Motor vehicle accidents continue to be the leading cause of death for Oregon workers. So, SAIF is working with the American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds (AASCIF) and StriveSafe to help reduce motor vehicle injuries and fatalities.

StriveSafe’s intuitive In-Vehicle Monitoring system (IVMS) collects and tracks events such as speed, hard braking, and rapid acceleration. This data is stored in a Real-Time Onboard Vehicle Recording (ROVR) device after it is plugged into the vehicle’s diagnostic port. The information is transmitted to StriveSafe’s online software to help businesses analyze driving trends and behaviors. The features include a customizable dashboard, scorecards, and a worldVIEW platform (which also provides real-time mapping and “geofencing”). StriveSafe’s software also incorporates game elements and adds a spirit of friendly competitiveness.

The ability to quickly identify trends promotes coaching and positive reinforcement. Vehicle telematics can also help better manage fleet assets, reduce maintenance costs, and improve efficiency.

StriveSafe is currently offering these services for $15 per month per vehicle to SAIF policyholders (half-off the normal monthly fee). To learn more, visit StriveSafe.com/SAIF, call 303.317.4813, or email StriveSafe at info@strivesafe.com.

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News in brief

Browser requirements and compatibility mode recommendations

For browser requirements, see our standard requirements—they should help resolve most issues with saifQuote, Business Online, and other SAIF applications.

For Adobe, we recommend that customers run the latest version available to ensure it includes all available fixes. Older versions sometimes won't display PDF text correctly; in some cases Adobe itself needs to be reinstalled to resolve the problem.

How policyholder credits are being moved into our new system

SAIF is in the process of moving credits to our new policy and billing system (Guidewire) for policies that have converted from our prior system and have fully completed the reconciliation/audit process. This is different than how we have been handling a credit remaining on a finalized policy period (that has been through the final audit) from the old system to the new system since we began converting policies on September 1, 2019.

The old method was not customer friendly (they had to request refunds on the finalized policy period in WCIS), and credit amounts were not being transferred to their new policy period. This new process makes for a seamless transaction for policyholders. These transactions are normal as a result of finalized audits and would generally appear more seamlessly when handled by the same system.

Accounts with a September 1 renewal date that meet this criteria have had their credits moved, and work is beginning on the October 1 accounts. Our goal was to complete the October 1 accounts before the next invoice batch was mailed on February 1. This process will continue internally on a monthly basis until all policies have converted to the new system. The credits being moved will be reflected on the policyholder's invoice as a payment (policyholders may have questions about this).

You may notice commission owing on prior policy terms on your commission statements from the old system (WCIS). As credits are transferred to the new system, any credits that are larger than the current balance owed are held for the next premium installment. Once the installment is due, the additional funds will be applied, and this will result in the commissions being paid out to you.

We appreciate your understanding and patience as we continue to move through this conversion process. If you or your policyholder have questions, please call the billing representative.