Wednesday, August 24, 2011

2012 Florida Marine & Longshore Rates

As the Insurance press has published, NCCI filed for an 8.9 percent increase in workers compensation rates for Florida for 2012.

So what does that mean for businesses working on the waterfront?

First and foremost the Longshore multiplier to change state rates to Longshore is decreasing slightly from 2.23 to 2.17 -- not much, but for those that do not have an established Longshore code; the 2.7% reduction will help offset part of the 8.9% increase!

For those who have an established Marine/Longshore code, the rates are generally following the same pattern of single digit rate rises with three notable exceptions:

6834 Boat Builders (not fiberglass nor wood as they have their own codes) is actually DROPPING from $3.17 to $2.95 due to expected claims dropping from $1.21 to $1.10 per $100 of payroll. So the small number of Steel/Aluminum or other boat builders in Florida will see a 7% drop in rate due to their good class experience.

However both 6006F (marine contractors) and 7327F (containerized stevedoring) are both seeing hefty increases this year. 6006F increase to $15.99, a 20% jump over the 2010 rate and 7327F leaps 36% to $31.29 for 2011.

It must be stressed of course that these are only filings right now, and may change before January 1st, but even if the overall number changes those last two classes are looking at significant increases this year.

Watch this blog for more information once the rates are finalized

Monday, August 22, 2011

Divers Longshore or Jones Act?

Below is a link to a great article  by maritime attorney Joe Pipinich who discusses the question of when a diver qualifies for Longshore and when Jones act.

Joe received his J.D. at Tulane University, where he received his certification in Maritime Law, and his B.S. from Cornell University, where he majored in Industrial & Labor Relations. Joe is the founder of the Maritime Northern Law Firm.

maritimenorthernblog.com

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Two Longshore Workers Killed in Philadelphia and Newark

Source -  The Journal of Commerce Online
Joseph Bonney | Aug 15, 2011 12:56PM GMT

Deaths raise the number of ILA members killed on job in last four years to 14

Two Longshore workers were killed in work accidents at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in Philadelphia and Maher Terminals in Port Newark, N.J.

Carmen “Chuckie” Dirago, a member of International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1291, was killed in Philadelphia when a tractor-trailer backed into him, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Don Delia, a member of ILA Local 1804-1, died in the Newark accident. Details of the accident were not available.

ILA President Harold Daggett extended condolences to the victims’ families and directed George Lynch, an ILA safety director, to investigate. Friday’s deaths raise the number of ILA members killed in work accidents in the last four years to 14.

“These deaths of our two ILA beloved brothers demonstrates why we must be vigilant with safety and put it at the top of priority list,” Daggett said. “It’s why the ILA wants top-level training, why we want accurate container weight measurements. Brother Dirago and Brother Delia’s deaths will not be in vain and, in their memory and inspired by them, we will work to make certain these accidents don’t happen again.”

-- Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephbonney.

Monday, August 8, 2011

6006F Marine Contractors Florida

The results for the first full year of the Florida Marine Contractors code, 2007 are now available and they show that there were 138 insured’s in the state that were wholly or in part using this code.

These 128 insured’s generated a little over $23 million in 6006F payroll which averages around $168,000 in payroll per insured (not including related clerical, sales or other codes).

These accounts generated 81 claims, that equates an average two out of three insured’s having a claim.  The average claim was $47,354.

This class was new for 2006, so still has some way to go before fully developed and clearly the current state of the economy is such that the payroll in the class has surely plummeted since the heady days of 2007! It will be interesting to see how these results develop as the years flow.

Data provided courtesy of NCCI.  For more details please visit www.NCCI.com

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Rates for Ohio Marine Industry Decrease 20%

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) has reduced its rates for marine industry employers by 20 percent, effective July 1, the BWC said. The change lowers the rates for employers conducting business on Ohio waterways that subscribe to the Marine Industry Fund.

Ohio ranks 7th among the 50 states in Longshore and harbor worker activity based on total tons of waterborne domestic cargo handled through a state’s ports.

The Marine Industry Fund provides coverage for injuries, disease and death resulting from Longshore and harbor worker duties for Ohio employers with employees who work on or about navigable waters, as required by the Federal Longshoremen and Harbor Workers’ Act.

Ohio employers may choose to participate in the Marine Industry Fund, purchase insurance from a private carrier, or self insure if approved by the U.S. Department Labor.

Source: Ohio BWC