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Deep South's Catastrophic Claim Response: Delivering on the Promise How Does CSA 2010 Work? Distracted Driving: The Risk Is Real QBE Fast Facts ......................
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800-235-3891 ..................... QBE Fast Facts QBE the Americas is rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M.Best and "A+" by Standard & Poors QBE the Americas wrote over $4 billion dollars in premium in 2009 QBE the Americas posted a combined ratio of 89.7 in 2009 underscoring the superior performance of the firm QBE Insurance Group Limited, the parent company of QBE the Americas", is among the top 25 insurance organizations in the world QBE Insurance Group Limited operates in 47 countries around the world
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Ward Johnson Joins Deep South To Lead Loss Control Group
Recently, Ward Johnson joined Deep South to lead the safety and loss control department of the company. Ward is an industry veteran with more than twenty-five years of experience in the safety and loss control business. For most of his career, he was employed with one the nation’s leading insurance carriers in a number of leadership roles where he established a record of success. From a leadership perspective, Ward believes everything in business must start with integrity and honesty as the foundation for everything that follows. As a leader, Ward sees the keys to success in any business endeavor as setting a clear direction, having a focus on those things that are important and pursuing responsibilities with a sense of urgency and purpose. In short order, Ward recognized the significant capabilities of Deep South’s loss control group stating, “I am very impressed with the level of experience and expertise of our loss control staff and the positive impact they have on clients by creating a safer workplace.” He goes further saying, “the work they do has a direct positive impact on the bottom line for clients by reducing the total cost of risk and increasing organizational productivity.” In a very real sense, Deep South’s loss control staff can translate safety into dollars that go straight to the bottom line. In a challenging economy, the value of Deep South’s loss control services cannot be overestimated. Looking ahead, Ward’s vision is to develop more effective ways to leverage the considerable experience and knowledge of his loss control staff. Through utilizing technology, web-based assets and forward-leaning loss control strategies, he seeks to extend and multiply the positive impact Deep South can have for independent insurance agents and their clients. Perhaps most importantly, Ward states, “everything we do must be aligned with and in support of our independent agent partners and their clients to create real value”. He looks forward to delivering more service and more information to clients, with less friction and greater ease of doing business. He says, ”stay tuned in the coming months… Deep South’s loss control department is on the move.” Ward Johnson is a native of St. Louis, Missouri and a graduate of the University of Central Missouri, where he attended school on a football scholarship playing safety. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Safety in preparation for his career. Ward is married to Dawn, his wife of 27 years. They have two children, Madison and Dalton who both attend college. Ward enjoys spending time with his family and is an avid sports fan. He is a serious Mizzou Football fan and greatly enjoys following the St. Louis professional sports franchises including the Rams, Cardinals and Blues.
Deep
South's Catastrophic Claims Response:
Deep South places a strong emphasis on providing industry-leading claims services designed to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of commercial insurance clients. From our client-focused ClaimCare program to our advanced Catastrophic Claim Response capability, Deep South more effectively protects the interests of your clients, delivering greater value and more peace of mind. For example, in the case of a fatality or other major incident, Deep South flies one of the company’s highly experienced catastrophic loss analysts to the location within just hours of the incident to immediately be of assistance and to begin the claims investigative process. In the first forty-eight hours after a catastrophic commercial auto or truck accident, we bring together at the scene of the accident the following people from our cadre of professionals:
Together, these specialists analyze the physics of the accident, gather information, evaluate data and collect evidence to make the right decisions for the families, for the client and for the insurance company. Deep South effectively changes the paradigm about how such claims are settled. Traditional timelines are collapsed, better information is developed and better outcomes result for all of the parties involved. Deep South’s catastrophic claim services offer a clear advantage to Deep South’s independent agent partners and the clients they serve. How Does CSA 2010 Work?
The new CSA 2010 Operational Model replaces the Safer System and has 3 major components:
According to DOT CSA 2010 is a monitoring system, not a regulation. The trucking industry has been monitored under SAFESTAT for the last 15 years, and now CSA is taking its place. Only 9 states are currently fully operational on CSA 2010 which started testing in 2008. Those states are Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Georgia, and New Jersey. CSA 2010 with be known as CSA since there is an anticipated implementation date for July 2011 for the other 41 states due to computer problems Companies that operate commercial vehicles transporting passengers or hauling cargo in interstate commerce must be registered with the FMCSA and must have a USDOT Number. Also, commercial intrastate hazardous materials carriers who haul quantities requiring a safety permit must register for a USDOT Number. The USDOT Number serves as a unique identifier when collecting and monitoring a company's safety information acquired during audits, compliance reviews, crash investigations, and inspections. There are 3 forms of intervention: early contact by letter, investigation off or onsite, and a follow up plan which can be citations, or placing a business or driver out of service. CSA 2010 - Enforcement Process Flow Chart Distracted Driving: The Risk Is Real
At some level, many of us have experienced one of those moments where we have been talking on our cell phone while driving and were suddenly further down the road than we realized and had no strong recollection of the past mile or two driven. Intuitively, most of us know that driving while talking on a cell phone, driving and texting or any other activity that diverts attention away driving the car is risky at best. In a world where most of us are stretched relative to demands on our time, multi-tasking has become part of how we move through the day to get things done. Culturally, the ability to multi-task is often seen as a virtue. Yet, recent medical and psychological studies indicate that we humans don’t multi-task as well as we think we do, impacting our productivity and in the case of driving a car putting our lives and the lives of others at risk. Consider for a moment these statistics about distracted driving related accidents in 2009 just published a few months ago by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
While the human toll of lost lives and injured people is the most critical point, the adverse economic impact is substantial in the form of increased medical costs, lost productivity, increases in insurance costs and other factors. Simply put, the societal cost is too high. From the perspective of a business owner, the risk associated with employees who are driving while distracted is extremely high. From a workers’ compensation perspective, this is a clear workplace safety issue that is part of creating a safe and healthy workplace for employers. In the event of an accident involving an employee while on company business, it is not difficult for plaintiff’s attorneys to access phone company records to precisely identify when a cell phone call is occurring or text messages are being sent. If the company has adequate insurance protection, the company will financially endure the accident but could suffer substantially increased insurance premiums as a result of the accident. If the employer does not have adequate insurance coverage, a distracted driving related case could financially drain the company. The jury is no longer out on the distracted driving issue. The problem is real and it requires each of us to individually alter our behavior to be more cautious and safe. As employers, it suggests we should put in place a distracted driving policy to encourage safer behavior behind the wheel while on company business and to protect the interests of the company. *Listed below are two useful documents to assist organizations in defining the risk including a recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a sample Distracted Driver Safety Policy developed by the National Safety Council.
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One
of Deep South’s great strengths has been and continues to be the
company’s in-house loss control department. The group is comprised
of over thirty dedicated safety and loss control specialists who
have many years of experience and deep knowledge about safety.
Under the leadership of CEO, Jerry Mackey, the company has engaged
in a series of initiatives to build upon the considerable success of
this group to the direct advantage of agency partners and their
clients.
During
the commercial insurance sales process, there is often a critical
element of the decision process left out of the equation or not
given the weight it deserves. That critical element is claims
service. Too many times, the purchase of insurance is predicated
upon price and a few other variables with perhaps the most important
element overlooked. What happens when misfortune strikes and the
time comes to file a claim? What if there is a catastrophic
commercial auto loss involving fatalities or serious injuries? Is
the insurance organization up to the challenge? If needed, will they
have the capabilities and skill sets to competently investigate the
claim, develop the facts with a high degree of certainty, protect
the interests of your client, secure quick resolution or vigorously
defend your client in a court of law. The future of your client's
company may well rest in the hands of the insurance organization you
choose to trust.
CSA
2010 re-engineered the existing enforcement and compliance business
process to provide a better view into how well commercial motor
vehicle (CMV) carriers and drivers are complying with safety rules
and regulations, and to intervene earlier with those who are not. As
the program rolled out in 2010, DOT established a new
enforcement and compliance operational model that utilizes its
resources, and those of its state enforcement partners, more
efficiently and effectively, making the roads even safer for
everyone. 