Granite Insurance Brokers

The California Insurance Commissioner has determined that Assembly Bill 2883, effective January 1, 2017 applies to all new, renewal or existing policies. This legislation changes the definition of employees with respect to who is allowed to be excluded from workers’ compensation coverage as an officer of a corporation, member of boards of directors,  general partnerships and limited liability companies. These changes summarized below amend sections 3351 and 3352 of the California Labor Code. If either of the below types of business ownerships applies to your insureds, please read carefully and assist your client in executing the appropriate waiver form for officers/directors or general partners/managing members that elect to be excluded from coverage. Any qualifying officer or director, general partner or managing member that does not execute a valid waiver is considered an employee, their payroll will be included for coverage and the insured may be subject to additional premium at final audit.

As a reminder the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a final rule, effective December 1, 2016 to update the regulations governing which executive, administrative, and professional employees (referred to as "EAP" or "white collar" workers) are entitled to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime pay protections.

Nobody at your facility has been hurt in more than a year. Weekly inspection forms are returned with no non-compliances. Are the facility’s safety plans really working that well or is it just luck? Conducting a safety audit is one of the proven ways to answer that question.

Do your employees know how to handle hazardous materials safely? Here are 11 basic rules all employees who handle hazardous materials should know and follow.

Fall season is just around the corner, and it is often at this time that we start seeing people get sick with the flu. Kaiser Permanente is now accepting worksite flu shot clinic scheduling requests for the 2016 season for the active enrolled groups with Kaiser. Flu clinics are available to all employees enrolled or not enrolled in Kaiser on a fee-for-service basis billed to the employer outside the scope of covered health plan benefits.

Employment screening services can provide peace of mind to employers when hiring a candidate. At Granite we have put together a National Background Check Program using National Crime Search.

In the latest blow to Obamacare, Aetna is vastly reducing its presence on the individual exchanges in 2017.The insurer will stop offering policies on the exchanges in 11 of the 15 states where it currently operates. Aetna (AET) will only sell Obamacare products in Delaware, Iowa, Nebraska and Virginia.

The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) Governing Committee voted to authorize the WCIRB to submit a January 1, 2017 Advisory Pure Premium Rate Filing to the California Insurance Commissioner.

Short Term Disability (STD) is one of the fastest-growing ancillary benefits being offered by employers. There is no cost to the employer to offer short term disability and helps an employer reduce worker's compensation injuries.

For a calendar year plan, the deadline for filing a Form 5500 is July 31st.  ERISA requires welfare benefit plans to file a Form 5500 each year unless the plan qualifies for the small plan exemption, or another regulatory exemption.