The ALS Group Risk Management Articles

It’s not your imagination that the cost of doing business in New York keeps climbing. The increasing costs of Workers’ Compensation insurance in New York are a major part of the overall increased cost of doing business in the state.

Last week on March 26-28, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly referred to as “Health Care Reform”, to determine if the Act is constitutionally sound.  The Supreme Court is expected to render a decision in late June 2012.

The complexity of demonstrating proper compliance with Health related programs is only one more headache employers need to deal with. Proper compliance is essential in order to avoid costly fines (many are $100-$250/employee per day) and penalties from the Department of Labor (DOL).  Many smaller companies, with human resources staff already pushing the limit from the normal stresses of HR issues (including regulations, compliance, claims etc), might be at risk for noncompliance issues regarding healthcare.  An article from the March 2012 issue of CFO magazine highlights the need for all companies to remain vigilant in order to avoid fines & penalties from the DOL.

As part of Title V of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law on July 21, 2010 the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) is a new agency within the Department of Treasury. This office was designed to provide expertise at the Federal Level since, currently, all insurance regulation and enforcement is governed state by state.

The recent article in CFO magazine highlights a potential mine field for employers. In mid 2011, I wrote about the subject, the reasonableness of plan fees and the fiduciary responsibility sponsors have for their prudent management.  Shortly, the Department of Labor will require specific fee disclosures which may send shock waves to participants already depressed at lackluster returns.

2011 was one of the most challenging years for many business owners and will be one of the most costly for insurers. Losses from insured natural have exceeded $100 billion for 2011 undoubtedly triggering an opportunistic response from insurers. This on top of the increased scrutiny from stakeholders has put company senior leadership in the “hot seat” to be vigilant to mange risk appropriately. Company’s are still struggling under difficult economic times and need to be aware of and strive to manage their Total Cost of Risk (TCoR).