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There's a LOT to know about insurance. So, whether you've got a specific question or just want the 411 on what we do, click around on the articles below.
Construction Risk Advisor | November 2022
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas that lacks a detectable color, taste or odor. Breathing in this invisible gas can displace the oxygen in a person’s blood, as well as deprive their vital organs of oxygen. In large amounts, CO can affect an exposed individual within minutes, ultimately causing them to lose consciousness and suffocate.
Supporting Employees Before, During and After a Hurricane
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1 and continues through Nov. 30. In recent years, hurricane season has become increasingly severe and devastating. During hurricanes, heavy rains and winds pass through coastal areas, often damaging homes and businesses surrounding the impacted areas.
Early Estimates Show Increase in Traffic Fatalities for 2022
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released its early estimates of traffic fatalities for the first half of 2022. The report found that an estimated 20,175 people have died in motor vehicle traffic crashes, the highest number of deaths during the first half of the year since 2006. This number is also up a marginal 0.5% from the 20,070 projected fatalities for the first half of 2021.
Health Panel Calls for Routine Anxiety Screening for Adults
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) recommends that adults under the age of 65 get regularly screened for anxiety. The draft recommendation applies to adults 19 and older who don’t have a diagnosed mental health disorder. It’s meant to help primary care clinicians identify early signs of anxiety, which can go undetected for years.
Live Well, Work Well | November 2022
Many Americans and economists think rising inflation issues, interest rates and housing costs may be warning signs of a looming recession. According to a Bankrate poll, nearly 7 in 10 Americans are worried about the possibility of a recession before the end of next year. Unfortunately, many Americans don’t feel prepared for an economic downturn.
Evaluating Organizational Downsizing
Deciding to terminate an employee is never easy, and it only becomes more difficult and complex when organizations must eliminate multiple employees. Mass layoffs are common when organizations downsize. Organizations downsize for many reasons, but it’s most common during times of market volatility or poor financial performance. Whatever the reason, successfully downsizing can be challenging and is rarely risk-free.
Employee Leave for Voting During Elections
As 2022’s Election Day approaches on Tuesday, Nov. 8, employers may be curious about how to best prepare. While federal law does not require employers to provide their employees time off to vote, many states have voting leave laws that allow employees to take time off to vote in certain circumstances. Further, employees may desire their employers to offer leave regardless of the applicable laws, so employers may choose to proactively plan for how to handle Election Day.
PBM Satisfaction Among Health Plans Drops to Three-year Low
In 2022, customer satisfaction with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) reached a three-year low, according to a recent report from the Pharmaceutical Strategies Group (PSG). This year’s PBM customer satisfaction score was 7.8 out of 10, compared with 8.2 in 2021 and 8 in 2020. Analysts believe this drop may be linked to rising drug prices and negative public sentiment since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assembling an Inflation-proof Benefits Package
Employers are becoming increasingly concerned about inflation’s impact on their employees, especially as the U.S economy faces the very real prospect of an upcoming recession. Many employers are searching for creative solutions to better support employees while navigating a competitive labor market. Many employers are building inflation-proof benefits packages to help employees counter inflation’s impact and address their attraction and retention struggles.
5 Onboarding Tips to Help Reduce Employee Turnover
The employee onboarding process is crucial for retaining employees after the first 90 days. During the first three months at a job, about 1 in 3 workers would leave it without having another job lined up, according to recruiting firm Jobvite. However, an effective onboarding process can help employees be excited and engaged, which helps prevent turnover.
Managing High Cholesterol on a Day-to-day Basis
Nearly a third of the population in the United States has high cholesterol, which carries numerous risk factors, such as an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Since high cholesterol affects a large portion of the population and has severe repercussions, it’s essential to know how to manage it daily.
Inflation’s Impact on 2023 Open Enrollment
Many employees are currently feeling financially strained because of inflation. With open enrollment fast approaching, inflation could impact the choices employees make when it comes to their benefits. Employees are likely considering which benefits matter the most and how to optimize the money they spend on those offerings. As a result, this year’s open enrollment may be more challenging than usual for employers and benefits providers.
Hurricane Cleanup and Recovery Tips
Recovering a commercial business in the aftermath of a hurricane can be challenging. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), more than 40% of businesses don’t reopen after a disaster.
New Login Procedures for OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application
OSHA recently announced new login procedures for its injury tracking application (ITA). The OSHA ITA has transitioned its login procedure to the public’s one account access to government applications, Login.gov. The new login procedures are already in effect.
FMCSA Ends All Active Coronavirus Trucking Exemptions
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has allowed all COVID- 19 commercial motor vehicle (CMV) emergency declarations to expire on Oct. 15, 2022. These exemptions provided CMV drivers compliance flexibility for certain sections of Part 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), including hours of service requirements, vehicle inspection obligations and driver qualification rules.
KFF Survey Explores America’s Mental Health Crisis
Mental health is a serious concern for the majority of American adults, according to a new survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and CNN. The findings revealed that an alarming 90% of adults feel the nation is experiencing a mental health crisis. Furthermore, 1 in 5 adults rated their own mental health as “only fair” or “poor.”
Last-minute Open Enrollment Considerations
As open enrollment periods approach for 2023 benefits, there’s still time to address employees’ questions and inform them of their options in meaningful ways. Doing so will help them get the most from their benefits, which are especially valuable as employees navigate record-high inflation and work to maximize every hard-earned dollar. This article outlines a few last-minute strategies for maximizing open enrollment for your employees.
Understanding the “Quiet Quitting” Trend
“Quiet quitting” is an emerging trend where workers only do what their job description entails without going above and beyond. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees shifted their views on their work lives, and this has been reflected in movements such as the Great Reshuffle—a mass movement of workers to jobs that meet their demands for things such as more flexibility and better benefits—the shift to remote work and, now, the quiet quitting trend.
How Small Businesses Can Prepare for a Recession
A recession is a prolonged and pervasive reduction in economic activity. Generally speaking, multiple successive quarters of negative growth in gross domestic product—a monetary calculation of the market value of goods and services generated and sold during a set time period within a given country—constitute a recession. A recession can last for several months or years. Furthermore, recovering from this state to the nation’s previous economic peak can take years, even after a recession ends.
How to Prevent Catalytic Converter Theft
A catalytic converter is a device found in vehicles’ exhaust systems that converts environmentally hazardous exhaust into less harmful gasses. Though catalytic converters have been installed in every new vehicle since 1975, theft of these devices has skyrocketed in recent years due to the highly valuable precious metals they contain.