Author: Sara Goese

Pre-task planning: Prepare and be aware for successful injury prevention

Posted on by Sara Goese

By Nick Johnson, CSP, Loss Prevention Specialist

Imagine this scenario:

We are at the airport waiting for our departure flight. While waiting, we see our incoming plane land, taxi from the runway, and dock at the jet bridge with no issue. We watch as all the previous passengers disembark, and the plane is refueled. Soon, the gate attendant calls passengers to board. The process is running like a well-oiled machine with no delays, and it looks like it will be a smooth departure.

Once settled into our seats, we wait to depart, but minutes after the scheduled departure time, the pilot explains over the intercom that they found some “irregularities” during their pre-flight checklist. Since we just watched this plane land and taxi with no problem, it seems like it will be just a minor delay. After 10 more minutes pass, the pilot comes on the intercom again to express concern about the “irregularities,” and the maintenance team has been summoned.

Finally, the pilot comes back on and explains that the maintenance team reviewed the data and decided to fully assess the plane before clearing it for flight. Passengers are asked to disembark and go to another gate to board a different plane. There are audible groans throughout the plane, but who wants to be on a plane with a potential mechanical issue?

So how does this story relate to pre-task planning?

If the flight crew hadn’t performed a pre-flight check, we would have embarked on a flight with an increased risk for a tragic incident.

Experience doesn’t guarantee safety

Part of my role as a workplace safety professional is to speak with clients about pre-task planning. Employers often respond that their employees are well trained, or they perform this work “all the time.” I love to hear that! The problem is that even well-trained and competent employees can have incidents and be injured when placed in less-than-safe situations and environments.

Safety risks can change daily and it’s imperative that employees have opportunities to identify them so they can use their training to solve problems before they result in incidents.

Pre-task planning identifies potential hazards for a particular time frame, environment and/or work task. Taking time to ask questions before beginning work allows teams to focus on hazard recognition and put specific controls in place to prevent incidents from occurring.

A little preparation goes a long way

By prioritizing pre-task planning, employees can focus on hazard recognition so when working on a task, they can perform knowing they’ve put appropriate safety controls in place.

I encourage implementing pre-task planning at the start of the day and after lunch. It can be an excellent tool to prevent severe incidents and help reduce pesky (and potentially dangerous) one-off incidents.

Give it a try!

What questions should employers be asking to identify hazards? There is a wide range of topics to address relating to mental, physical, and environmental states, such as:

  • What is the task I am performing, and what’s the end goal?
  • What could go wrong with this task?
  • Is there a potential to fall, be struck by or caught between objects/equipment or to encounter energy sources (electrical, hydraulic, etc.)?
  • What other work is being performed in the area that might affect me?
  • How will I control my work area to ensure safety?
  • Do I have the proper equipment to perform this task safely?
  • What physical limitations do I feel would prevent me from performing this task safely today?
  • What is the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for this task?
  • How will I mitigate the physical demands to prevent strains and sprains?
  • How knowledgeable am I about the task being performed?
  • What questions do I have about how to perform this task safely?
  • How focused am I on the task at hand?

While this is not a comprehensive list of questions, it should serve as a good starting point to customize your own approach. The idea is to give employees every opportunity to assess a situation in real time and use training received to problem-solve and prevent incidents.

Get to know an SFM employee: Meet a member of our in-house bill review team

Posted on by Sara Goese

Kirsten Peterson
Kirsten Peterson

Kirsten Peterson has been a Medical Support Representative at SFM for two years, and in the workers’ compensation industry for 15 years. Kirsten is part of SFM’s in-house bill review team. We asked Peterson to share a little bit about her background and her role.

How did you get into workers’ compensation?
I just kind of fell into it by getting a temp job at a small workers’ compensation third-party administrator. I later got a job with a large pharmacy benefits manager. That’s where I learned a lot about medication and authorization and different rules for different states regarding medication. I still use that knowledge to this day, which is really cool. It’s kind of funny how it comes full circle.

How did you end up at SFM?
When I moved back to Minnesota, I made a list of the insurance carriers that were local and who had the nicest adjusters and SFM was at the top.

How would you describe your role in a nutshell?
A lot of what we do is processing medical bills, but a lot of people don’t know that we also educate medical providers to make sure they are billing us correctly and that we’re also paying them correctly. We also work closely with different state agencies to make sure that we’re following state-specific guidelines and rules. When we’re reviewing medical bills, we’re looking to make sure the bill relates to our injury. Sometimes we’re even identifying additional body parts or red flags in the medical records and passing that information on to the adjuster. They appreciate having us as their second set of eyes.

How is SFM different from other organizations you’ve worked for?
There’s a big sense of family, which I really love. Everyone is super kind, super friendly, super nice, very, very helpful. I love how close knit everyone is and you make relationships with people as you get to know them. We have a big focus on collaboration and learning from one another and teaching one another. I love having the opportunity to teach people on my team. Everyone’s feedback is heard and is welcomed. I work for an amazing team. Everyone’s super supportive. My boss is amazing. I love it a lot.

What do you like about your job?
I love that it’s completely different every single day. We have our basic set of tasks, but how you approach a bill is different from bill to bill and even claim to claim. I love provider phone calls because they keep us on our toes. Sometimes it’s a simple phone call wanting to know if the bill was received, and sometimes it’s a lot more complex.

What’s most challenging about your job?
There’s a lot of different state rules and regulations, so as we branch out into new states – which is really awesome and exciting – there’re new things that we have to learn, so we have to do the research. We have to reach out to other departments of labor and industry and make sure that we’re doing things appropriately, so that’s where it can get a little bit challenging.

What words of wisdom do you have for employers?
Make sure injured workers know to give our billing information right away when they go to medical appointments. If they don’t have a claim number yet, that’s OK. At least give our mailing address. That’ll ensure a smooth billing process, and they won’t get any unexpected bills sent to them.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m from International Falls, Minnesota, and I picked my college for their hockey team. I don’t necessarily recommend that as a method to choose your education, but it was also a good school (University of North Dakota). I have a 12-year-old nephew who does it all. I like to go to his hockey games, football games, baseball games, and now he’s a cowboy, so we keep pretty busy attending all of his sporting events, or if I can’t make it, my mom takes a video for me so I can cheer from afar.

 

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Companion moving to electronic delivery

Posted on by Sara Goese

SFM’s Companion magazine will be delivered via email only starting with the January 2024 edition.

“As more and more communication moves to electronic channels in many of the workplaces we serve, we felt the time was right to make this change,” said Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Andy Gebhard. “Discontinuing our print edition will allow us to place more focus on our online resources, and operate in a more environmentally friendly way.”

SFM will continue to send out the emailed edition of the Companion as it has for the past several years. Going forward, recipients of the electronic version will see no immediate changes.

In addition to the Companion email newsletter, SFM policyholders have on-demand access to a wealth of articles, downloadable resources, and videos covering a variety of workers’ compensation-related topics at sfmic.com.

 

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Recreational marijuana: How Minnesota’s new law may impact work comp and workplace policies

Posted on by Sara Goese

By Aaron Schmidt, Managing Counsel at SFM’s in-house law firm

On May 30, 2023, Gov. Tim Walz signed the state’s recreational marijuana bill, making Minnesota the 23rd state in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana for adult use.

The new law contains several provisions that affect employers doing business in Minnesota, addressing changes to medical marijuana, use of off-duty lawful consumable products, drug testing in the workplace, as well as implementation of workplace policies. We recommend employers consult with an employment law or business law attorney, as the recreational marijuana law will significantly impact how employers address marijuana-related workplace issues.

Impact on workers’ compensation

From a workers’ compensation perspective, the new law does not substantively change the analysis for determining whether an injured employee’s intoxication allows for a defense to a claim.

Now that recreational marijuana is legal in Minnesota, it is effectively no different at the state level than any other legal intoxicating substance, such as alcohol, and therefore is subject to the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act’s intoxication defense statute. The statute states that if the injury was intentionally self-inflicted or the intoxication of the employee is the proximate cause of the injury, then the employer is not liable for compensation, however the burden of proof of these facts is upon the employer.

However, it’s important to note that because recreational marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, employers can still prohibit use, possession, and impairment from marijuana products if failing to do so would violate federal or state laws or regulations or cause the employer to lose federal funding or licensing-related benefits.

Effect on workplace policies

Despite the enactment of laws around the country permitting the recreational use of marijuana for adults, employers in the U.S. are not required to permit or accommodate marijuana use, possession, sale, transfer, or impairment while at work, on work property, or operating an employer’s vehicle, machinery, or equipment.

An employer may create written policies addressing such prohibitions, so long as the employer has enacted work rules regarding marijuana use and marijuana testing consistent with Minn. Stat. Section 181.951, Minnesota’s Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (DATWA).

This statute is specific to Minnesota, and drug testing laws will vary by state, so employers should refer to their local jurisdiction for the applicable laws. Employers with questions about the application of this new statute, and the appropriate immediate actions to address it, should consult an employment law or business law attorney in their jurisdiction.

Determining marijuana intoxication levels

While the new law addresses polices prohibiting marijuana use while at work, existing Minnesota law prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee’s use of lawful consumable products while not at work, and the new law adds marijuana to the definition of “consumable products.”

The one difference from other intoxicating substances, however, may be how marijuana metabolizes and how that impacts testing results, potentially making it more difficult to measure intoxication and/or impairment compared to other legal substances.

According to Mayo Clinic Laboratories , “depending on the frequency of cannabis usage, its potency, or THC content, the detection limit of the laboratory assay and other factors, you can still get positive results or detect the carboxy-THC in the urine 30 days or longer once a person stops using marijuana.” This can make it difficult to tell when and where the marijuana use took place, complicating whether it can be discerned if the use was at work or not.

Work injury and marijuana use

If an employee is believed to have been intoxicated at the time of a work injury, there may be available defenses to pursue in denying the claim. In Minnesota, under Statute Section 176.021, Subdivision 1, an employer can raise an employee’s intoxication as a bar to a claim for workers’ compensation benefits if it can be shown that:

1) The employee was intoxicated at the time of his or her injury, and

2) That the intoxication was the proximate cause of the employee’s injuries.

The employer has the burden of proving these elements, and satisfying this burden starts with a proper understanding of the laws regarding substance use, testing, and defenses in the employer’s jurisdiction.

If an employer suspects that an employee is impaired at the time of the work injury, they should inform their workers’ compensation insurer immediately so a proper investigation can take place.

 

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

SFM expands market presence throughout its territory

Posted on by Sara Goese

SFM territory mapSFM increased written premium and market share in every one of its core states in 2022, and results so far this year show continued momentum. Premium for the first quarter of 2023 came in well ahead of projections, up 12% from the same period the prior year.

Long-standing partners know that we believe in steady, measured growth, which brings value to both established partners and newly appointed agents.

Comparing market positions by state

SFM’s premium share is on the rise in all of its core states, according to an industry report issued this spring by SNL Financial. SNL, a data analytics firm within the S&P Global organization, issues an annual insurance industry study that compares market share and ranks carriers within each state of operation. While SFM’s presence as a leading carrier in its core territory is nothing new, this report provides important independent corroboration of SFM’s position in the market.

SFM’s carrier ranking in its top five states, based on 2022 written premium

(listed in descending order of total premium)

State SFM’s carrier rank
Minnesota 1
Wisconsin 15
Iowa 7
Nebraska 9
South Dakota 4

“In addition to expanding the lead we’ve held in Minnesota for over 20 years, it’s great to see that the majority of our growth is coming from our other core states,” said Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer Mike Happe. “For example, we saw written premium in Wisconsin jump from $35 million to $51 million, showing strong growth in both the voluntary market and our assigned risk plan business.”

While building on its strong presence in the original five core states, SFM has also been making great strides in the more recently-added Kansas, Indiana and Tennessee.

Continued growth, new opportunities in Kansas

SFM began writing small business accounts in Kansas in the fall of 2020. Since that time, premium growth and loss performance in the state have been outstanding. In fact, between the years 2021 and 2022, SFM’s Kansas rank leapt by 16 positions according to the market share report.

“One thing that’s really helped us establish a presence in Kansas has been our relationship with Marysville Mutual and its agents,” said VP of Regional Business Shawn Miner. “Right out of the gate, this multi-line carrier embraced SFM as its work comp partner, and it’s been critical to our success.”

Recently, agents in Kansas have asked us to expand beyond small business and write their larger accounts as well. SFM chose to invite Kansas accounts over $25,000 in 2023, backing that decision with a commitment to add in-state staff to better serve these larger policyholders.

“We’ve been thrilled with our growth in Kansas,” Miner said. “To help with our growth, we’ve begun hiring underwriting and claim staff in the state to help provide an even higher level of service for our Kansas insureds.”

Positive early indications in Indiana

In the first 18 months since SFM made Indiana its seventh core state, progress has been remarkable. Policy count and premium are growing at a steady rate (with SFM’s Indiana rank jumping a whopping 21 places from the prior year in the SNL report).

“Our business in Indiana is really hitting its stride,” said Mark Lewis, Small Business Marketing Representative. “Indiana has proven to be a great state to do business in and we’re excited to see our growth continue there in the coming years.”

Tennessee market off to a strong start

SFM officially entered its newest core state of Tennessee in January of 2023. An instrumental step in the success of this new endeavor has been a partnership with Farmer’s Mutual of Tennessee (FMT Insurance), a multi-line carrier that immediately recognized SFM’s ability to serve its agents’ work comp needs.

“We’re pleased to get off the ground so quickly with these new relationships,” said Business Development Specialist Cody Allen. “Thanks to the support and efforts of our strategic partner (FMT Insurance), as well as referrals from existing agencies in our other states, we’ve quickly built up a solid agency force and new business is already exceeding expectations.”

SFM is actively working to recruit new agency partners, welcoming additional referrals throughout its expanding territory. If you know any agents who would be interested in learning more about working with SFM, don’t hesitate to refer them to Cody Allen. He can be reached at 952-838-4207.

 

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It starts with the interview: Tips for your clients to reduce new hire injuries

Posted on by Sara Goese

Did you know that agents can play a role in their clients’ good hiring and safety training practices? Claims statistics show that new employees are more susceptible to injury. Those work comp claims come with a cost to the employer and can impact a company’s premium.

In this article, we’ll share some of our top tips for hiring and onboarding, and how you can pass this information on to your clients to help them get the right person in the role from the beginning and instill safety training from the start.

The right interview questions can help employers find safety-minded candidates

Asking about an applicant’s disabilities or past work injuries is prohibited by state and federal laws; however, employers can glean helpful information by asking other, related questions.

For example, an employer can use the job description to demonstrate the requirements of the role and ask whether the candidate can perform the tasks listed.

Employers can also ask them about their previous workplace safety training and if they feel ongoing safety checks are important.

Keep in mind that as part of the job offer, employers have the option to require a new employee to sign the job description to confirm that they can perform the duties outlined. Then, if a work injury does occur, the employer has the employee’s affirmation of capabilities documented.

Keep safety top of mind while training a new hire

Employers should include safety training as part of new hire onboarding and then follow up afterward to reinforce the training. SFM Loss Prevention experts recommend checking in three, six and nine weeks after a new hire is onboarded to answer any questions they have and to reinforce the safety training they heard early in their new role.

Share hiring resources

SFM offers several resources to help employers with the hiring process. We encourage agents to share these resources with their clients.

Hiring best practices CompTalk – This downloadable handout for policyholders offers hiring tips from the application period to the interview and through the job offer and vetting steps. Share this handout with clients so they can evaluate their current hiring process and make any helpful additions or changes.

How to hire the right people – This blog post written for policyholders is an easy-to-understand breakdown of hiring best practices. The link to this piece is easy to share with clients the next time you email them.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for employment practices.

 

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SFM’s top class codes

Posted on by Sara Goese

SFM writes business in more than 400 class codes including key industries such as construction, healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, social services and nearly any other “main street” business you can think of.

The following lists of our top 20 new business class codes by policy count and premium will give you an idea of where we’re seeing the most success.

Top 20 class codes by policy count

This chart shows SFM’s top new business class codes by policy count over the past three years.

Rank Governing Class Code
1 5645 – Carpentry – Detached One Or Two Family Dwellings
2 8835 – Public Health Nursing Associat
3 8810 – Clerical Office Employees Noc
4 8842 – Group Homes–all employees and salespersons, drivers
 5 5474 – Painting Or Paper Hanging Noc
 6 9082 – Restaurant Noc
 7 7219 – Trucking Noc- All Employees & Drivers
8 8017 – Store Risks Retail Noc
9 9015 – Bldg or Prop Mgmt-All Other Employees
10 8380 – Automobile Service Or Repair
11 8832 – Physicians Include Clerical
12 9014 – Buildings Operation By Contrac
13 0042 – Landscape Gardening & Drivers
14 8868 – Colleges Or Schools Profession
15 9084 – Bar, Discotheque, Lounge, Night Club Or Tavern
16 8742 – Salesper Coll Or Messg Outside
17 0908 – Domestic Workers – Inside-Occasional
0913 – Domestic Workers-Inside
19 0037 – Farm Noc
20 5221 – Concrete Work Floors Driveways
5445 – Wallboard Installation In Buil

Top 20 class codes by premium

This chart shows our top new business class codes by premium size over the past three years.

Rank Governing Class Code
1 5645 – Carpentry – Detached One Or Two Family Dwellings
2 8868 – Colleges Or Schools Profession
3 8824 – Retirement Living Centers  Health Care Employees
4 8835 – Public Health Nursing Associat
5 7219 – Trucking Noc- All Employees & Drivers
6 8842 – Group Homes–all employees and salespersons, drivers
7 8833 – Hospitals Professional Employe
8 5221 – Concrete Work Floors Driveways
9 8829 – Nursing Or Convalescent Home – Prof Employees
10 3629 – Precision Machined Parts Mfg N
11 8832 – Physicians Include Clerical
12 9082 – Restaurant Noc
13 5537 – Air Conditioning, Heating Installation, Service and Repair
14 8380 – Automobile Service Or Repair
15 5403 – Carpentry Noc
16 0006 – Farms No Inservants
17 3632 – Machine Shops Noc
18 9014 – Buildings Operation By Contrac
19 9012 – Bldg or Prop Mgmt-Property Mgrs, Leasing Agents, Clerical & Sales
20 0037 – Farm Noc

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Play back our recent webinar on return-to-work best practices and view our library of educational videos

Posted on by Sara Goese

The Fundamentals of a Return-to-Work Program webinarSFM recently hosted another educational webinar for our policyholders and agents titled “The Fundamentals of a Return-to-Work Program” and it’s still available for you to view. In it we discussed the importance of a good return-to-work program for any business type and outlined actions employers can take to positively impact the process.

Head to sfmic.com/webinars to watch the webinar recording. You can also view previous webinars and quick excerpts on work comp topics including loss prevention basics, winter slip and fall prevention, best practices for injury reporting, a breakdown of work comp benefits, avoiding litigation and much more.

 

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Featured resources for agents and policyholders

Posted on by Sara Goese

SFM’s online resource catalog offers a wide range of educational resources designed to help policyholders prevent injuries, manage their claim activity and learn more about workers’ compensation. Also included are materials to help agents market their accounts with SFM.

 

Featured resources for agents

Make SFM your workers' comp insurer. It's the right choice.

Make SFM your workers’ comp insurer. It’s the right choice.

A handout describing the benefits of breaking out work comp and making SFM your partner. It explains the benefits of a monoline carrier and illustrates SFM services that make us the right choice.

The right choice in workers' compensation for schools

The right choice in workers’ compensation for schools

Learn why SFM is the workers’ compensation carrier of choice for school districts throughout its territory.

Featured resources for policyholders

Claim packet - What to do if someone is injured at work

Claim packet – What to do if someone is injured at work

If someone is injured at work, this packet gives employers the materials they need to report the claim and help the injured worker return to work safely and quickly.

Experience modification factor CompTalk

Experience modification factor CompTalk

Understanding and tracking the experience mod can be the single most effective thing employers can do to control their workers’ compensation premium. This resource helps explain the importance of the e-mod for policyholders.

Safety Orientation Success Guide

Safety Orientation Success Guide

New hires are at increased risk for workplace injuries. Safety education is critical to maintaining a safe workplace. Employers can use this step-by-step guide to train employees in safety on the job.

 

Encourage your policyholders to download these resources from SFM’s online resource catalog and visit the site often for the latest materials.

 

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SFM attending upcoming 2023 industry events

Posted on by Sara Goese

SFM is planning to participate in several insurance industry events in the coming months.

 

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