A critical part to running your California business is making sure your employees are safe at work. Workers compensation coverage protects you and your employees from any work related injuries and illnesses.

In California, as in most states, workers compensation coverage is required. Even if your business is headquartered in another state, as long as you have employees working California regularly your business needs to carry workers compensation coverage.

California Assembly Bill 5

In September 2019, California Assembly Bill 5(AB5) was signed and went into effect on January 1^st, 2020.

The new bill changes how workers in California as classified. Under AB5, companies that hire independent contractors have to reclassify them as employees unless that can prove that:

1. They are free from control or direction in work performance
2. Perform specialized services that differ from a clients usual business
3. Maintain an independently established business offering services to clients

This also know as the “ABC Test”. Here is an example:

Scott, a licensed electrician, is hired by Wildcat Grill, a new restaurant, to make updates to the building.  Scott is not considered an employee of Wildcat Grill for 3 reasons:

1. He was not under control or direction of Wildcat Grill in regards to installing the new wiring
2. The work performed by Scott was outside Wildcat Grills usual scope of business- restaurant vs electrical work
3. The work Scott did is consistent with work he is Customarily engaged in providing other businesses with(electrical work)

Exceptions

Certain businesses have exceptions to the new bill such  accountants, engineers, physicians, lawyers, marketing professional, barbers, and manicurists.

As the bill technically went into effect January 1^st, 2020, the part that impacts workers compensation insurance went into effect July 1^st, 2020.

Now what?

As the bill technically went into effect January 1^st, 2020, the part that impacts workers compensation insurance went into effect July 1^st, 2020.

• This new bill now means that a worker whom you may have classified an an independent contractor before July 1st is now considered an employee after July 1st.        
• If you hire a contractor and the contractor maintains workers comp coverage for themselves and their employees make sure you obtain a certificate of insurance for have on file come audit time.
• It is critical to make sure you have the proper workers compensation policy in place that has your payroll is correctly classified to avoid ending up with a huge bill after your yearly audit.

We are here to help in in anyway possible with these new updates. Make sure to give Don Williams and Associates a call  at 408-402-3646 and see how one of our Risk Management Professionals can make sure you are not one of the many business owners who is over paying for workers compensation insurance.

Today we are going to look at the top 10 most financially costly causes of loss that appeared on workers compensation claims in 2019. These injuries may not occur more frequently than others but the costs associated with these claims add up to billions of dollars.

Not only do you want to avoid having any injury costs and a claim on your CA workers comp insurance, but you also don’t want your essential workers to be left on the sideline for extended periods of time.

Here are Liberty Mutual indexs 10 most costly causes of workplace injuries and illnesses in 2019:

Cost(Billions)

1. Overexertion involving outside sources                                                                                                                    $13.11
2. Falls on same level                                                                                                                                                         $38
3. Being struck by an object or equipment                                                                                                                    $22
4. Employee falling to a lower level                                                                                                                                 $4.98
5. Other exertions or bodily reaction                                                                                                                              $3.69
6. Roadway incident involving motorized vehicles                                                                                                      $2.70
7. Slip or trip without falling                                                                                                                                             $2.18
8. Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects                                                                                                  $1.93
9. Repetitive motions involving micro-tasks                                                                                                                   $1.59
10. Struck against an object or equipment                                                                                                                       $1.15

Some of these injuries can happen in a setting as casual as an office or as busy as a construction site. As a business owner in California, what can you do to mitigate these risks? Not only do you need an employee safety program in place and proper employee training, but you need to be able to financially protect your employees. If you are looking for CA workers comp coverage give Don Williams & Associates a call and see how we can help protect your business!

Insurance companies have been put in a very tough situation these past few years. California has been devastated with uncontrollable wildfires, leaving the insurance industry with over $26 Billion in losses. This has resulted in thousands of customers experiencing non-renewals from their long time insurance carriers, making it difficult for customers needing to obtain California fire insurance.

According to the department of insurance around 350,000 homeowners insurance policies were dropped in the last four years for these very reasons. The Los Gatos hills, in particular the 95033 area code, has been one of those areas where finding  insurance companies has become difficult. This has not only impacted the insurance market but has had a significant impact on the real estate market in these impacted areas.

Many customers wonder how insurance companies decide whether or not their home is located in an area of high risk. Insurance Companies use satellite data to calculate a properties fireline score. This takes into consideration factors like fuel, slope, road access, and the time it takes for the fire department to respond.These scores range from 0-1(low), 2-3(moderate), 4-12(high),13-30 (extreme).

Insurance companies also take your protection class into consideration. This provides insurance companies with data about your surrounding community. Your protection class score is based off your communities ability to prevent and mitigate fires. Factors that go into your protection class score include the nearest fire stations location, resources available for the fire department, proximity to water, equipment available, capability of water supplies, and more.

The 2020 fire season in California has unfortunately already started off with an increase in fire activity. The CZU, SCU, and LNU lighting complex fires have destroyed thousands of structures and burnt almost 1,000,000 acres.

When hard times like these arise it is crucial that you have taken the time to ensure that you have the proper insurance policy in place and have taken to necessary steps to mitigate any fire damage to your home.

Here are the two most important steps you can take to make sure your home is properly protected.

Financially Protect Your Home During Fire Season

• With only a few companies in California willing to insure homes located in these areas it is extremely important to find an independent agent. Why an independent agent? An independent agent has the ability to check with a number of different homeowners insurance providers and will also have access to surplus lines carriers, who specialize in insuring these unique risks. We also have access to the California Fair Plan, which can act as a last resort for finding homeowners insurance.

At Don Williams and Associates we not only have access to a variety of homeowners insurance carriers, but we have a long history of writing these types of risks and understand this market like the back of our hand.

• Mitigate Fire Hazards On Your Property:

1.Make sure you create a defensible space around your home by clearing all debris and brush that is directly surrounding your home.

2. Make sure any propane and fuel tanks are a minimum 30 feet away from your home
3. Make sure your smoke detector is working property. It also does not hurt to install a monitored fire alarm.
4. Trim any overhanging tree branches that touch or come close to your home.
5. Remove Debris from the roof and gutters
6. If you are installing a new roof it would be smart to consider using a roof with noncombustible materials. Metal, tile, slate, and concrete roofs are going to be more fire resistant than a wood shake roof.
7. Make sure your street and driveway have enough clearance to allow firetrucks to access your property
8. Use Home Defense Fire Retardant(https://phos-chekhomedefense.com/)

If you are a California resident that needs help finding California fire insurance you can also fill out the form below and one of our homeowners insurance experts will reach out to you immediately.

Restaurant owners are some of the most passionate business owners. They work tirelessly to make sure they consistently please their customers by providing amazing food and service. However, the restaurant business comes with many obstacles.

One of those obstacles is making sure you protect your employees by minimizing any workplace hazards. Restaurants, bars, and caterers all have to make sure employees are operating in a safe work environment. Having procedures in place to properly handle food, sharp knives, hot liquids, and a number of other hazardous materials is essential for all restaurant owners.

What is Workers Compensation?

Workers Compensation pays benefits to employees who are injured or contract a disease on the job.  Workers Compensation is mandatory in California for all employers, even if you only have one employee. In California, you can purchase workers compensation through the State Fund or from a private insurer.

What Type Of Benefits Can an Injured Employee Recieve?

Medical benefits

Medical benefits account for more than half of the total workers compensation benefit payments in the U.S. This covers any medical expenses that an employee incurs due to a work-related injury or illness.

Disability Benefits

Disability benefits are designed to replace your employee’s loss of income after a work-related injury.  Although there are four classes of disability the most common is a temporary total disability. In this scenario, an employee is expected to recover from the injury and return to work but cannot work during the recovery period. The weekly benefit for a worker with a temporary total disability is two-thirds of your average weekly wage.

Injured employees can also receive rehabilitation benefits, as well as death benefits to their surviving family.

How is My Rate Calculated?

Your Workers Comp rates are calculated based on a few different factors:

• Annual Payroll
• Number of Employees
• Class Code
• Experience Mod

Your payroll typically includes employee wages or salaries, bonuses, paid time off, commissions,etc.

Your class code is determined by the operation of your business, in this case, restaurants. Restaurant class codes can vary based on the type of restaurant(full service, fast food, bar).

Experience Mod

The experience mod is a method for calculating workers comp premiums based on your individual loss history. Your experience mod measures your loss history to that of other companies in your industry.

An experience of 1.0 means that your business performed precisely the way a company of your size and class should perform. When your mod goes over 1.0, it means that you have higher than average losses and results in an increase in premium. A mod below 1.0 is a credit mod and means that you will be getting a discount on your worker’s comp premiums.

How Do I Keep My Workers Compensation costs down?

The best way to keep your workers compensation costs down is to find an independent agent who has access to a variety of workers compensation carriers. This will not only provide you with many different carrier options but independent agents also have access to carriers who offer pay as you go insurance.

Instead of estimating your annual payroll and potentially overstating that amount, pay-as-you-go relies on real-time payroll to calculate premiums, which results in more accurate premium payments. This means that you will be less likely to be on the hook for a large audit adjustment at the end of the policy term because of under-reported payroll.

Another way to lower your workers compensation costs is to implement a safety program that all employees are required to follow. Preventing injuries can not only save lives but it will save you a lot of money on your workers compensation premium. The goal is to mitigate and remove any possible hazards that can lead to workplace injury or disease.

Restaurant Safety Program:

• Implement a safety procedure to avoid cross-contamination and foodborne illness
• Make sure all kitchen spills are cleaned immediately
• Require employees to use protective equipment like cut resistant gloves for food prep
• Make sure employees who use chemicals are properly trained with how to use them safely
• Allow breaks from repetitive movements
• Have employees avoid any awkward lifting
• Never leave hot oil or grease unattended
• Potholders, gloves, or mitts required when handling food on the stove or oven.
• Provide proper storage for knives
• Make sure knives are properly sharpened

Contact Don Williams & Associates Today

For over 60 years we have followed proven methods to reduce the cost of your workers compensation insurance. Give us a call today and find out how we have been helping restaurants in California save on workers compensation. Call 408-402-3646 or fill out a form here.

We look forward to helping with your restaurants insurance needs!

I’m pretty confident that if you asked anyone who has ever owned a rental property you would get an overwhelming response that it’s not as lucrative or easy as they thought it would be. In fact, owning a rental property can be a major pain, and end up costing you a ton of money!

I certainly don’t mean to be a “Debbie Downer”, and I know that if it’s done right it can be lucrative, but from an insurance agent’s perspective, I don’t see a lot of people doing it right.

So you’re probably thinking, “Well Chris, you are an insurance agent. What do you know about real estate or rental properties? Why should I take advice from you?”

I’m not a real estate agent, and I don’t own a rental property. However, several of my friends/family/clients/co-workers own rentals, and because I insure a bunch of their properties, I’ve had a first hand account of the process, and I’ve learned what to do, and what not to do.

Continue reading →

I was recently asked this question by one of our Don Williams & Associates clients, and thought I would share the answer here for our readers.

There are a lot of things that go into homeowners and auto insurance rates, one of them being credit. I’ve heard a lot of complaints from people who don’t like the fact that insurance companies use credit in their underwriting.

Some people have absolutely no idea that it’s used in the rate at all.

At the end of the day, there’s not much we can do about it though. Insurance companies have been using credit in their rates for decades, and that’s not likely to change.

By the way, insurance companies don’t pull your credit like a mortgage company or credit card company does. There is no negative impact on your credit as a result of an insurance company looking at it.

When I say “pull” what I mean is that the insurance company is doing what’s called a soft inquiry, which is not the same thing as having your credit pulled (hard inquiry).

When does credit play a role in insurance rates?
It’s important to understand that insurance companies don’t continuously check or monitor your credit. Usually, they only check it when you first get a quote and/or sign up with them in the very beginning.

This means that if your credit score increases (or decreases) your insurance company does not automatically know about it.

So, to my customers question of whether or not his increased credit score will lower his rates, the answer is not automatically.

What has to be done on our side as the agent is contact the carrier the insurance and ask them to do what’s commonly referred to as a “re-score”. This is when the insurance company can re-run the person’s credit (soft inquiry) to see if there is any positive bearing on the rate.

This isn’t something that the insurance company is going to let the agency do every single year, so it’s not worth even asking unless there has been a significant change in your credit score, and only you as the customer would know if that was the case.

If you’d like to get a better handle on your credit rating, it could be helpful to setup credit monitoring. We hope this was helpful! As always, leave us comment below if you have any questions.

Why do my auto insurance rates keep going up even though my car is getting older?  At Don Williams & Associates, many of our clients ask this question so I would like to address it from a couple of angles.

First things first, even though it’s called car/auto insurance, it covers more than just your car. It should technically be called “auto-owners” insurance, similarly to how home insurance is actually called “home owners insurance”.

It’s important to understand that there are a lot of variables that go into insurance premiums, and with auto insurance, it’s no different.

The insurance company is much more concerned with you crashing into someone and causing them (or yourself) bodily harm, or death, than they are about your car. A car is a material possession which can be replaced.

A human life is not.

When is the last time you looked at your auto insurance policy?
If you look at it you’ll notice there are a lot of different coverages on your auto policy.

Bodily injury
Property damage
Un-insured motorist
Under-insured motorist
Medical Payments
Loss of Income
Funeral Expense
Loss of use
Rental Reimbursement

These are all things that you are covered for on your auto policy. How many of them have to do with your car?

None.

How many of them have a price next to them on your policy?

All of them.

Your car isn’t the only thing you’re being charged for on your policy
That’s because auto insurance covers far more important things than your car as mentioned above.

Let me re-phrase that: your car insurance rate isn’t just based on your car.

You’re not the only one…
It’s also important to understand that you are not the only person your insurance company insures. You are one fish in an ocean of other fish, sharks, and sea creatures, all who have different characteristics and risk profiles.

Insurance is all about spreading costs over a large number (risk pool) of people, which each person paying their fare share. That risk pool is constantly changing, and is impacted by a ton of different things, including the overall economic climate.

This means that you are sharing in the cost of millions of other people, many of whom may have poor loss history and/or credit.

That’s what insurance is though — sharing in the cost.

The next time your auto insurance rates go up, take a look at the big picture. Make sure you’re looking at ALL of the coverages, and corresponding rates.

Hope this helps!  If you would like to know more about Car Insurance be sure to visit our page dedicated to it.