(888) 495-8949 CustomerCare@bhhc.com
WCIRB COVID-19 FAQs

WCIRB COVID-19 FAQs

WCIRB COVID-19 FAQs

 

WCIRB’s COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) provide information on a wide range of topics about workers’ compensation insurance. More information can be viewed in the WCIRB Learning Center.

 

Additional Resources:

Need Billing Help?  Reach Out To Us.

Need Billing Help? Reach Out To Us.

Need Billing Help?  Reach Out To Us

For some employers right now, workers compensation costs can feel unaffordable in the current economic environment. We understand that COVID-19 negatively impacts many employers. We have a range of billing options, like FlexPay and MPR reporting, and refinance options available. Affected policyholders should not wait to reach out to help!

Since March 17th, BHHC has been holding cancellation notices on all inforce policies, even if a specific state did not require such action. Keeping coverage inforce, even if we were not being paid, allowed employers negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to focus on navigating the current crisis without fear of losing their workers compensation coverage.

Beginning next week, we will start sending letters to policyholders with past due balances informing them of our timeline for sending out cancellation notices for non-payment of premium. An example of that letter is available below. Our goal is to ensure policyholders can continue coverage, regardless of their financial circumstances. So whether they are looking for a short-term solution for a gap in finances or a long-term method of managing their overall workers compensation billing, please reach out today.

If any policyholder would like to set up a payment plan, discuss payment plan options, or identify how much is currently due, please contact our Customer Care team by emailing us at clientservices@bhhc.com or by calling (888) 495-8949.

 


Dear Policyholder,

On March 17, 2020, in response to several state-specific orders, Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies (“BHHC”) began suspending cancellation for all workers’ compensation policyholders for non-payment of premium. Since then, we have been holding cancellation notices on all inforce policies, even if a specific state did not require such action. Keeping coverage inforce, even if we were not being paid, allowed employers negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to focus on navigating the current crisis without fear of losing their workers’ compensation coverage.

As restrictions begin to ease and some communities start reopening, many of these state orders providing restrictions on premium collection and the cancellation of policies have expired or will expire soon.Regardless of state orders, we want you to know that BHHC’s Workers’ Compensation Division is committed to helping customers navigate the current crisis through the upcoming weeks/months. Below we provide some important information about what the expiration of these orders will mean for our policyholders and what BHHC is doing to provide continued leniency to those negatively impacted by the current crisis. Our Client Services and Customer Care teams can assist you with any questions or concerns. Contact clientservices@bhhc.com or (888) 495-8949.

Update on Past Due Premiums

Unless there are state-specific orders to the contrary, we are resuming normal billing operations, including removing the automatic cancellation holds we placed on policies that are behind on premium payments. Policyholders who have a past-due balance and have not contacted us to set up payment terms will be issued a direct notice of cancellation (“DNOC”) for failure to pay. To avoid cancellation, policyholders will need to pay their past-due premium in full by the cancellation effective date or must contact us to make payment arrangements. DNOC’s will resume per the below.

  • Policies that have NJ coverage – DNOC’s will resume as early as 07/30/2020
  • Policies that have CA coverage – DNOC’s will resume as early as 07/14/2020
  • All other policies – DNOC’s will resume as early as 06/30/2020

We will continue to monitor state orders and emergency declarations and will update the above as needed to comply with those orders.

Making Payment Arrangements

We will continue to work with policyholders negatively impacted by COVID-19. If you would like to set up a payment plan, discuss payment options, or identify how much is currently due please contact our Customer Care team by emailing us at clientservices@bhhc.com or by calling (888) 495-8949.

Monthly Payroll Reporting | Pay-As-You-Go

Customers who report payroll to BHHC under their selected billing plan were also granted leniency in submitting their payroll reports. Customers with past due payroll reports will be issued a direct notice of cancellation for failure to report per the above schedule.

We ask that all customers who have past due payroll reports submit their payroll to avoid cancellation. We will handle any premiums owing as a result of these submissions in the same way described above.

To identify if you have any past-due premiums please login to your account or contact our Customer Care team. If you are a Pay Go customer and need assistance please email us at PayGoAdmin@bhhc.com

Sincerely,

Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies

Expired: California’s COVID-19 Presumptions

Expired: California’s COVID-19 Presumptions

California’s New COVID-19 Presumptions

 

What You Need to Know

On May 6, 2020, Governor Newsom signed an Executive Order which provides a temporary, rebuttable presumption that COVID-19-related illnesses are compensable if the following are true:

  1. The employee was working outside of their home at the direction of their employer sometime between March 19, 2020 and July 5, 2020 and
  2. Within 14 days after a day worked outside of the home as described above, the employee is determined to have COVID-19 based on either a: a positive test for COVID-19 or b: a diagnosis of COVID-19 by a qualified physician or surgeon (as defined below) and verified by a test within 30 days

Employers should provide individuals meeting the above criteria with a DWC-1 form and also inform BHHC by reporting a COVID-19 claim online or contacting our Customer Care Support at (800) 661-6029. It’s important that employers report claims timely, as the Executive Order reduces the time frame to make a compensability decision to 30 days.

For employers that are required to provide up to 80 hours of COVID-19-related sick leave, either due to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act or Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-51-20, this benefit should be used first, before any temporary disability is paid.

As this order covers days worked through July 5, 2020, employers may wish to carefully consider their options as to when and how they bring individuals back to the office or workplace on or prior to this date.

Below are additional recommendations for employers, details of the Executive Order and how we’ll be dealing with COVID-19 claims.

When to Report a COVID-19 Claim

Per the new Executive Order, employers should report a claim (and provide a DWC-1 to the employee) if items 1 and 2 above are met. For the purposes of item 2, a qualified physician or surgeon is one who holds a license issued by the California Medical Board.

For employees who may have contracted a COVID-19-related illness before May 6th, but on or after March 19th, the employee must obtain a certification on or prior to May 21st documenting the period for which the employee was temporarily disabled and unable to work. We would encourage employers to file a claim without waiting for the certification, so that we have sufficient time to investigate the claim.

Employers should also report any employee fatalities due to COVID-19, where the employee worked outside the home between March 19, 2020 and July 5, 2020.

There is no need to report a possible exposure – where the employee is showing no symptoms – although the employer may wish to encourage the employee to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Finally, employers should still report claims for any employee who is at a heightened risk for COVID-19 (such as a healthcare worker) and who becomes ill or is diagnosed with COVID-19 prior to March 19, 2020 or after July 5, 2020. Even though this is outside the current Executive Order, they may have a compensable claim.

How We’ll Handle These Claims

Once a claim is submitted, it will be handled by a dedicated team of Claims Professionals and reviewed by in-house medical and legal experts, as appropriate. We’ll work to ensure that employees get the care they need and are due.

If the claim was based on a diagnosis, the employee will need to have an actual test within 30 days of the date of diagnosis, which will also inform the compensability decision.

As with any other claim, we’ll do an investigation appropriate to the facts and circumstances, while ensuring the employee is receiving appropriate compassionate care and benefits. The Executive Order notes that the presumption may be ‘controverted by other evidence’ and so we’ll attempt to gather sufficient information from employers, employees and providers to decide whether to accept or deny the claim.

The Executive Order does add a couple of specific requirements related to TD benefits:

  1. The employee must be certified for temporary disability within 15 days after the initial diagnosis and must be re-certified every 15 days thereafter, for the first 45 days following diagnosis – ideally this certification is done within our MPN, by a predesignated workers’ compensation physician or a physician in the employee’s group health plan.
  2. Employees who have COVID-19 related sick leave benefits (80 hours for many employees), have to use these first, before TD benefits will be paid.

As always, if you have any questions about a particular claim, please contact the Claims Professional assigned to the claim. If you have more general questions, please reach out to our Client Services Team: clientservices@bhhc.com.

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Assistance for Small Businesses

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Assistance for Small Businesses

U.S. Department of Treasury
As​sistance for Small  Businesses

 

“The Paycheck Protection Program prioritizes millions of Americans employed by small businesses by authorizing up to $349 billion toward job retention and certain other expenses.”

“Small businesses and eligible nonprofit organizations, Veterans organizations, and Tribal businesses described in the Small Business Act, as well as individuals who are self-employed or are independent contractors, are eligible if they also meet program size standards.”

Click here to go to the U.S. Department of Treasury website.

Commission Statements Update

Commission Statements Update

Commission Statements Update

 

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to raise challenges for our nation and our local communities. Like most of you, we are maintaining the bare minimum number of employees in our offices, ensuring our employees and communities remain safe while doing our best in upholding our high service standard. To achieve this, we must critically evaluate all activities that require staffing onsite and balance those activities with other delivery methods we can utilize in serving our agents. Our practice of mailing commission statements requires onsite printing and mailing and also necessitates your staff to be onsite for receiving the statements. Since we already publish the monthly commission statements to our Agency Portal, we are discontinuing mailing commission statements effective immediately.

We are attaching instructions for accessing your commission statements on our online Agency Portal. If you run into any issues finding your statement or accessing the portal, please email us at CustomerCare@bhhc.com

If you are one of the few agencies that have not enrolled in ACH for your commission payments, please contact us for discontinuing receiving your commission statements by check.

Please paste this URL into your browser:
https://bhhc.com/media/41315/commission_statements_20marbhhc.pdf