May 23rd – May 27th, 2022
Each week, you’ll find specially curated news articles to keep you up to date on the ever-evolving world of insurance and risk management. The articles are divided out between items relevant to Property & Casualty, Employee Benefits/Human Resources, and Compliance. We’ve included brief summaries of each item as well as a link to the original articles.
PROPERTY & CASUALTY
Inflation Drives 33% Surge in Auto Telematics Adoption in Q1 2022: TransUnion
“TransUnion’s latest Personal Lines Insurance Shopping Report found the number of consumers who accepted a telematics offer from their auto insurance provider increased 33% since the end of 2021—a trend driven by consumers hoping to lower their premiums by demonstrating safe driving habits. Telematics programs use connected devices, mobile phones, or auto manufacturer car apps to monitor and report detailed driving behavior. Similarly, in homes, connected devices monitor for warning of fires, water leaks, and other hazard risks.” Full Article
– Insurance Journal
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS, HUMAN RESOURCES, & COMPLIANCE
Employee Benefits Might Still Facilitate Abortions and Reproductive Choice in a Post-Roe v. Wade America “If the Supreme Court ultimately overturns Roe, all employers should review their health plans to see what, if any, impact the applicable state laws will have. Employers will need to consider many factors, including [1] the types of abortion-related benefits to be offered; [2] whether the type of health plan involved (e.g., self-funded or fully-insured) offers any strategic protections; and [3] any federal guidance the DOL and IRS may issue.” Full Article – Michael Best
Plaintiffs’ Bar Shows Renewed Interest in COBRA Notice Litigation “Class action cases filed against high-visibility defendants in Georgia, Michigan, Florida, and elsewhere allege the companies violated federal law when they sent purportedly inaccurate, threatening, or confusing notices of former employees’ rights to elect to continue medical-insurance coverage after their employment ended.” Full Article – Jackson Lewis P.C.
The Impact of Expanding Pre-Deductible Coverage in HSA-Eligible Health Plans on Premiums “The impact on premiums of expanding pre- deductible coverage for 14 services in HSA- eligible health plans is small. Estimated premium increases range from virtually zero to 1.5 percent. EBRI found a 0.9 percent increase in premiums when use of health care services was assumed to increase because of the lower cost sharing and when employers did not impose any cost sharing.” Full Article – Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI]
Is the IRS Going to Fix the ‘Family Glitch’? “The IRS issued a proposed rule on April 5, 2022 to close a loophole in the ACA policy affecting subsidies in the ACA marketplace. This proposal could indirectly affect employers as many spouses and dependents may elect to enroll in the ACA marketplace plans instead of the employer plan. This also opens the door for more employers to encourage spouses and dependents off their plans by increasing the cost that they pay to stay on the plan.” Full Article – Conrad Siegel Actuaries
Court Blocks Enforcement of Certain ACA Section 1557 and Title VII Nondiscrimination Rules Against Christian Employers Group n “The court issued a preliminary injunction enjoining HHS from interpreting or enforcing Section 1557 and its regulations against the group’s present or future members in a manner that would [1] require them to provide, offer, perform, facilitate, or refer for gender transition services, or [2] prevent, restrict, or compel the group members’ speech on gender identity issues. Furthermore, the EEOC is enjoined from interpreting or enforcing Title VII against the group, its insurers, or TPAs in a manner that would require the group’s present or future members to provide insurance coverage for gender transition services.” Full Article – Thomson Reuters / EBIA
Third Circuit: ACA Individual Mandate Penalties Are Entitled to Priority Under the Bankruptcy Code “The IRS asserted that the debtors owed more than $900 for failing to maintain health insurance coverage in violation of the ACA’s individual mandate during 2018. The IRS characterized the payment as an excise tax that was entitled to priority under the Bankruptcy Code. The Third Circuit held that the individual mandate payment was a tax on or measured by income for bankruptcy purposes. The court relied primarily on a six-factor test under Third Circuit precedent for determining whether a payment is a tax.” Full Article – Thomson Reuters Practical Law
STATE & INTERNATIONAL COMPLIANCE
In addition to the RISQ Review, RISQ Consulting also provides a resource that features changes and updates to State and International Compliance measures. We’ve included brief summaries of each item below, and also provided links to the original articles if you’d like to read further.
California
Cal/OSHA Releases Updated FAQs & Fact Sheets for Third Readoption of ETS
“Cal/OSHA posted an update to the Revisions to the ETS FAQ. This FAQ details the changes in the May 6th version of the ETS and requirements from prior ETS that remain. There is a separate General COVID-19 ETS FAQ that responds more to the application of the ETS and has been updated to conform to the recent changes in the ETS.” Full Article
– Jackson Lewis
Florida
What Does Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE’ Act Mean for Employers
“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the ‘Stop WOKE’ Act into law. The Act’s name is intended as an acronym for ‘Stop the Wrongs to our Kids and Employees,’ but is also obviously meant to be a play on the concept of ‘woke,’ which is defined in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary as an adjective describing one who is ‘aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues.” Full Article
– Lus Laboris
New York
New York Enacts Employee Privacy Law
“On May 7, New York’s new employee privacy law became effective and it requires employers to provide written notice to their employees prior to engaging in certain electronic monitoring activities. The state’s attorney general is responsible for enforcing the law (as it does not expressly provide a private right of action), and businesses may face financial penalties for noncompliance.” Full Article
– Thompson Hine
Georgia
New Georgia Employment Laws Change Definition of Employment, Restrict Local Laws Regulating Work Hours
“Governor Brian Kemp has signed into law two measures addressing the employment relationship. The first, Act 809 (H.B. 389), alters the definition of employment for purposes of unemployment benefits. The second, Act 823 (S.B. 331), precludes local governments from regulating the scheduling or work hours of a private business’s employees.” Full Article
– Jackson Lewis
Maryland
Maryland Enacts New Family Leave Law
“Maryland became the latest state to establish paid family and medical leave for employees with the enactment of the Time to Care Act of 2022 (the “Act”). The Act creates a family and medical leave fund (the “Fund”) which provides paid leave benefits to covered employees and participating self-employed individuals. The Fund will be financed by contributions from (i) employees, (ii) employers with 15 or more employees, and (iii) participating self-employed individuals.” Full Article
– DLA Piper
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