Do s and Don ts with Kris

Transcription

1 Do s and Don ts with Kris Presented by: Kris McCullough MAT Agency Director of Operations

2 Tree trimming at it s finest NOT!

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4 Your townships, with MATIT s help, are insuring $334,456,259 for Physical Damage on buildings, equipment, and vehicles. Vehicle Limits $ 33,883,644 Equipment Limits $ 82,747,987 Buildings $217,824,628

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7 E & O Claims are on the Rise! The majority of the MATIT Errors & Omissions Claims (E&O) are related to roads and rights of ways! Examples of Recent Claims: Issues over Rights of Ways Alleging branches being cut outside the ROW Alleging going outside of ROW in replacing a culvert

8 E&O Examples Continued: Issues regarding drainage Heavy storms culvert washed out retaining wall causing erosion and is taking of property owners land. (We denied the property claim for the wall and then received the E&O Claim) Claiming that the township s attempt to move water out of the road ditch was an improper discharge into the county drainage ditch. Road accident allegations that the town improperly maintained it. (We have a good argument for immunity because the township had good minutes about its maintenance decisions!)

9 Common General Liability Claims

10 General Liability Claims is when someone or something is damaged and negligence is claimed against the township! Common avoidable claims include: Hitting power lines or electrical boxes while digging or mowing ditches Rock or sand cracking windshields of other vehicles Frost boils, boulders on roads, windrows are always on the forefront but almost always denied Check your equipment/truck to make sure flashers and lights are operational before hitting the road.

11 Call before you dig!

12 Brush loose rock and gravel off the truck prior to hitting the road!

13 If you are involved in an accident: 1. DO NOT ASSUME FAULT or responsibility for the accident! 2. Call the police to get a neutral third party at the scene to take down information 3. DO NOT tell the other party that you, the township or MATIT will cover their damages! 4. Take photos of the accident scene (Smart phones are great as they put the date and time on the pictures)

14 The Workers Compensation Audit

15 Under the terms of the Workers Compensation Program through the Minnesota Association of Townships Insurance Trust (MATIT), your township MUST complete and return the Audit to avoid an automatic premium increase and possible expulsion from the WC Program. The information you provide is used to determine how much your township will pay for this coverage the following year. Therefore, it is important that you complete the audit accurately to avoid being over or under charged. MATIT does have the right to audit your information for accuracy.

16 Why the Late or Missing Audit Fees? As a Self Insurance Pool, the State of Minnesota requires that we belong to the WCRA (Workers Compensation Reinsurance Association). Each year we need to submit a report of all township s wages to the WCRA. We obtain these numbers from your WC Audits. This report must be completed by the middle of March and if it is late, MATIT is charged a $1000/day penalty. To be fair to those who do submit their audits on time, we charge those townships that are late a $50 Fee. Because we are submitting inaccurate numbers for those townships who do not submit an audit at all, we charge a $100 Missing Audit Fee. These townships also get penalized by losing their 10% discount on their WC Premium the following year.

17 Don t over think it! PAGE 1 EMPLOYEE WAGES ONLY! DO NOT include payments to: Other Townships Cities Counties Independent Contractors (if you have their Certificates of Insurance)

18 REPORTING MISCONCEPTIONS & ERRORS This IS NOT the same report you submit to the State of MN Auditors Office Include all wages paid within the year INCLUDING those making less than $600 (On Page 1) Include ALL Independent Contractors INCLUDING those who get a 1099 even if they re incorporated (Page 2 with Certificates of Insurance)

19 Clerk/Treasurers/Election Judges (All townships will have wages in this class code) $ 8810 Supervisors/Planning Commissions/Moderators/Zoning Boards (All townships will have wages in this class code) $ 9410 Road Maintenance/Roadside Mowing/Snow Plowing/Dust Control/Excavating Employees (Do not include payments to contractors in this section unless you do not have their certificate of insurance!) $ 5506

20 Cemetery Operations Employees (If this is ONLY lawn mowing at the cemetery, put wages in Class Code 9015) $ 9220 Building Maintenance / Janitor / Lawn Mowing or Snow Removal at Town Hall Employees $ 9015 Parks Maintenance/Rink Attendant Employees (If this is ONLY lawn mowing at the park, put wages in Class Code 9015) $ 9102 Police/Peace Officers Employees (This will not apply to most townships) $ 7720

21 Waterworks Operation/Sewer Employees $ 7520 Garbage Disposal/Landfill Employees (Do not include County or Waste Management Company) $ 7590 Auto/Machinery Maintenance Employees (If possible, break out your grader operator costs with the time / money spent on equipment maintenance.) $ 8380 Recycling Employees (Do not include County or Waste Management Company) $ 8264

22 Tree Pruning & Tree Removal Employees (Do not include minor branch removal while supervisors are doing their road inspections.) $ 106 Animal Control Employees (Do not include bounties )

23 PAGE 2 FIRE DEPARTMENT Does your township OWN and OPERATE a fire department? YES NO If yes, what is the total population of its service district? If yes, does the township have workers compensation coverage for the fire department through another insurer? YES NO

24 FIRST RESPONDER UNIT Does your township have a first responder unit that is NOT part of a fire department and that is under the town board's supervision and control? YES NO If yes, how many first responders? How may calls did they respond to in 2014?

25 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS Provide NAME & TYPE OF WORK PERFORMED for each Independent Contractor who performed work for your township at any time during 2014!

26 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS: Attach a copy of each contractor s workers compensation certificate of insurance (OR) Attach a copy of the contractor s commercial liability insurance certificate. All certificates provided should show the effective dates and limits of insurance.

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30 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS: Personal automobile and homeowners insurance certificates are not acceptable. Farmers Liability Coverage IS NOT ACCEPTABLE UNLESS there is an Endorsement or Rider indicating the type work being performed for the township!

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32 Independent Contractors: Professional or licensed services DO NOT NEED TO BE LISTED ON THE AUDIT! Examples: architects lawyers assessors engineers one-time repair service contractors such as plumbers or locksmiths

33 Certificates of Insurance (COI s) Supervisors should collect the COI s as contracts are signed Keep the Certificates so you have them on file send us copies Request that the IC s Insurance Agent automatically send you the COI as the coverage renews

34 No Certificate of Insurance? At a minimum, your township will be penalized $25 PER missing, invalid, or unacceptable Certificate of Insurance. If your township HAS NOT sent a Certificate of Insurance for two consecutive years, your township may be charged premium based on the wages paid to that contractor! If it is apparent that this is not a contractor, you will be charged premium based on their wages and the type of work performed! You must complete the 2014 payment field on the Audit.

35 Independent Contractors: 2014 Payments Field: No Need to complete IF you have a Certificate of Insurance (COI) for the contractor! If you do not have the COI, enter the wages for labor only paid to the contractor. DO NOT include the cost of product or equipment charges!

36 To Find the WC Audit on our website:

37 Reminders Send the ENTIRE completed audit WITH your Certificates of Insurance piece mail is difficult for the office to track & leaves room for error! If mailing audit, keep a copy for your records! Additional postage may be necessary two FOREVER stamps is not acceptable by the postal service. Remember to SIGN your audit this confirms that you acknowledge the information is accurate.

38 Reminders (continued) DO NOT mail a hard-copy IF you ve ed or faxed your audit: You will receive an confirmation Keep your faxed confirmation and copy of your original in your file Have all volunteers sign off on a Volunteer Service Agreement (VSA)

39 WC Agency Information & Questions Contact: Fastest & Easiest method with written documentation in place is to (Or Call) / We welcome your questions!

40 Other Work Comp Tidbits Sample First Report of Injury form Reporting Responsibilities Incident Only Reporting Report ALL Injury Claims Immediately to: SFM Liz Setnes Ext Fax

41 Christa Sellner

42 Christa Sellner Angie Hendrickson

43 Christa Sellner Angie Hendrickson Dawn Zimmerman

44 Policy Information & Questions Contact: Fastest & Easiest method with written documentation in place is to or (Or Call) / We welcome your questions!