InterWest Gives Back to St. Jude! With participation from every InterWest office, the Companywide InterWest Gives Back campaign raised more than $16,000 dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Thank you to everyone who participated & helped to raise funds to support St. Jude in their mission to end childhood cancer.
First came the Great Resignation during the second year of the pandemic as people left their old jobs in droves to find greener pastures elsewhere. To some extent, that’s still going on, but there is a new breed of employee who, for whatever reason, has decided to “quietly quit” their jobs. But they aren’t actually…
Despite the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau recommending that benchmark rates in California be increased in the last two years, the rates that insurance companies are charging for coverage continue falling. But the party may soon be coming to an end, according to a new report. The California Department of Insurance in fact rejected the…
One of the most difficult aspects of annual open enrollment is reaching workers who are disengaged from the process and never bother signing up for your group health plan and other benefits they could take advantage of. While employers shoot for maximum employee enrollment, there are always those employees who for a multitude of reasons…
A new law will require almost all contractors in California to carry workers’ compensation coverage, regardless of if they have employees or not. According to the author of the bill, State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, the new law was necessary due to the tendency of many small contractors to claim they have no employees, when…
InterWest’s Distinguished Employee: Monica Scott Monica is friendly, patient, persistent and always willing to work with new employees to share her expansive knowledge about markets and underwriters, which make their jobs easier. She has been successful in placing accounts that were being non-renewed due to wildfire hazard with other standard markets. She’s persistent with carriers…
By now you will know about the rapid uptake in telemedicine after the COVID-19 pandemic drove patients to use virtual appointments with their doctors. While this form of medicine seems like it’s here to stay, there are other technologies that employers can look to include in their group health plans to help employees get the…
Under a new proposal by the California Air Resources Board, all new big rigs and other large trucks sold in the Golden State will have to be zero-emission vehicles, starting in 2040. The proposed rule would bar manufacturers from selling medium- and heavy-duty trucks that run on diesel or gasoline in California, and instead sell…
A comprehensive safety plan benefits both employees and the bottom line. It can help organizations comply with local and federal laws and industry regulations. In addition, a company’s approach to safety can help or hurt its reputation. But safety isn’t a one-and-done task—it should be an ongoing process that a company frequently revisits. Let’s dive…
Many companies have developed safety plans but still struggle to close the gap between the program and the reality in the workplace. The key to bridging this gap and ensuring safety compliance is to develop leadership that prioritizes and models safety to the employees. In addition, leadership can ensure that employees remain current on safety…