Here for Texas. Here to Stay.
Reducing Premiums
We helped employers make workers’ compensation a smaller piece of their budget by paying more than $166 million in dividends, offering 27 group discount programs and providing more than $78 million in network discounts.
Dividends
"With all the headwinds we face in business, it's wonderful to get a check in the mail. It's a significant portion of our premium."
—Rick Guerra, CEO, Pasta Ventures LTD/Costillas LTD
Rick Guerra is the kind of entrepreneur that drives Texas’ economy. After spending the first half of his career working for other people, Guerra went into business for himself.
Today, he is the CEO of Pasta Ventures LTD and Costillas LTD, which operate a Macaroni Grill and four Tony Roma’s restaurants in South Texas.
Guerra knows that to succeed in business, you have to build relationships. During the past four years, his relationship with Texas Mutual has paid dividends – about $60,000 worth.
“With all the headwinds we face in business, it’s wonderful to get a check in the mail,” said Guerra. “It’s a significant portion of our premium. We can use it to pay bills and make sure our employees are taken care of.”
A dividend is essentially a monetary reward for policyholders who help Texas Mutual control costs. Employers who prevent workplace accidents and help injured workers return to the job improve their prospects of qualifying.
This year, Guerra was one of more than 38,000 employers who earned a share of Texas Mutual’s $150 million individual policyholder dividend plan. Half of the $150 million came in the form of a special dividend. Texas Mutual’s board of directors declared the special dividend in recognition of the company’s outstanding 2007 financial results.
Dennis Steel in Leander has earned more than $51,000 in individual dividends during the past two years. The money has been a welcome surprise in today’s difficult economy.
“We put our dividends right back into the company,” said Bob Dennis, business manager of Dennis Steel. “We used the money to upgrade our equipment, our facilities and our safety program.
“For example, we hosted two OSHA training courses for our employees this year. Thanks to the dividend, we were able to pay each employee overtime for attending.”
Premium discounts
"To me, it's a win-win for everybody involved. It helps our clients lower their premiums. And when you apply loss prevention, it helps them drive down their costs and maximize their bottom line."
—Brad Wicker, master agent for the Lone Star Auto Dealers Association group discount program.
Dennis Steel has earned another $27,569 in dividends as a member of the Texas Construction Association (TCA) group discount program. TCA is one of 27 group discount programs offered through Texas Mutual Insurance Company.
Employers who join a group get a premium discount, an industry-specific safety plan, and potential group and individual dividends.
“To me, it’s a win-win for everybody involved,” said Brad Wicker, master agent for the Lone Star Auto Dealers Association program. “It helps our clients lower their premiums. And when you apply loss prevention, it helps them drive down their costs and maximize their bottom line.”
In 2008, we partnered with agents to offer three new group discount programs: Texas Construction Supply, Texas Recreation Safety Group and Texas Lodging Group. Any licensed Texas agent can submit qualifying clients for consideration.
Most policyholders can earn an additional 12 percent annual premium discount by enrolling in our workers’ compensation health care network. In 2008, Texas Mutual provided more than $78 million in premium discounts to employers who chose our network.
Managing Claims
Our safety programs help policyholders identify and correct workplace hazards. When injuries do happen, our workers’ compensation health care network helps workers get well and back on the job.
Health care network
Texas Mutual Insurance Company launched its workers’ compensation health care network in 2006. The network’s goal is to help injured workers return to productive employment and give employers another tool for managing their claims. Two years later, the Texas Star Network® is working exactly as we envisioned.
The second annual network report card issued by the Texas Department of Insurance showed that:
- Medical costs on in-network claims are 6 percent lower than non-network claims.
- In-network patients return to work an average of 24 percent sooner than non-network patients.
- In-network patients report similar access to care as non-network patients.
"With Texas Mutual's network, our employees get treated faster and are back on the job sooner. It's reassuring to our employees to know we have a workers' comp carrier that cares about them."
—Sally Casas, San Miguel Electric Cooperative
“With Texas Mutual’s network, our employees get treated faster and are back on the job sooner,” said Sally Casas of San Miguel Electric Cooperative in Christine. “It’s reassuring to our employees to know we have a workers’ comp carrier that cares about them. We’re saving money, and we’re getting a valued employee back in a timely manner, often the same day.”
That is important, because workplace accidents come with price tags. Injured employees must contend with the boredom, stress and depression that often come with being away from peers. For employers, there are the monetary costs of hiring temporary help or paying overtime to other employees who cover for the injured worker.
Network policyholders benefit from a team of health care professionals dedicated to helping their injured workers get well and back on the job. Network doctors and specialists understand the dynamics of treating workplace injuries. They coordinate with certified network case managers to identify return-to-work opportunities.
“When one of our iron workers is injured, we don’t want to hire someone to replace them,” said Bob Dennis, business manager for Dennis Steel in Leander. “That’s not just the employer talking; that’s the foreman and everybody else on that crew. We want that individual healed, rehabilitated and back on the job.
“Texas Mutual’s health care network has first-rate doctors and professionals who can treat that individual and get them back to work.”
In 2008, we expanded our network service area. The network is available in 231 of Texas’ 254 counties.
Safety grants
The best way to manage claims is to prevent accidents. Texas Mutual provides tools that help employers keep their employees safe and on the job.
In 2008, we awarded a $100,000 grant to Kilgore College. The grant funds free health and safety courses through the college’s KC Risk Management Institute. The institute is a division of the KC Workforce Development Program, which offers custom workforce training programs for East Texas employers.
“Many companies in the area have had to cut more and more safety courses out of their budgets,” said Martha Woodruff, director of KC Workforce Development. “We are just thrilled to get this grant to offer free, high-quality training to help businesses keep their workers safe.”
Texas Mutual awarded similar grants to Midland College and College of the Mainland in Texas City.
Texas Mutual® online safety tools
Some employers cannot work a free safety course into their busy schedules. Texas Mutual® online services give them the freedom to focus on safety when it is convenient.
Any employer can visit texasmutualsafetyfirst.com to learn three easy steps to a better safety record. Our policyholders can also use the free safety resource center at texasmutual.com to uncover and correct the root causes of workplace accidents, download safety programs, and get DVDs, videos and other safety training materials.
“Texas Mutual provides the information and the tools, but employers have to commit to using them,” said Rick Guerra, CEO of Pasta Ventures LTD and Costillas LTD. “It’s certainly paid off for us. By controlling our accidents, we’ve cut our workers’ compensation costs.”
Personal service
Some people are more comfortable face to face than in cyberspace. In 2008, Texas Mutual’s loss prevention staff made nearly 10,000 work site visits. They helped employers correct safety hazards and make safety part of their company culture.
“I call our loss prevention consultant ‘The Godfather’; he’s fantastic,” joked Gwen Drumgoole, risk manager at Houston Community College. “He does a monthly walkthrough of our work sites. He makes recommendations and follows up to ensure we completed them. He comes with a wealth of knowledge, and he’s always available to help us improve.”
The Godfather, better known as Alan Barbee, has 28 years of loss prevention experience. He shares his knowledge with Texas employers during our free workers’ compensation workshops.
In 2008, Barbee and the team hosted 11 employer workshops across Texas. Their guests learned how to prevent accidents and help injured workers return to productive employment.
They also learned their role in fighting fraud, which steals $7.2 billion a year from the workers’ compensation system and honest employers nationally, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
In 2008, our investigators identified more than $10 million in fraud. Their diligence resulted in:
- Twenty-nine indictments and 13 convictions
- Claimant fraud future savings of $2,185,170
- Restitution of $39,374 from claimants
- Prevention of $301,467 in health care provider fraud and abusive billing
- Restitution of $1,569,873 in premium fraud
Living United
Our employees are committed to improving the quality of life for fellow Texans. In 2008, they donated $146,241 to the United Way. Many also lent their time and talent to charitable causes.
United Way campaign
Texas has the lowest percentage of adults with a high school education in the nation. Approximately 20 percent of our children are uninsured, compared with the national average of 11.6 percent.
To help combat these trends and others, Texas Mutual hosts an annual companywide United Way campaign.
“As the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, we feel a bond with all Texans, not just our policyholders,” said Texas Mutual President Russ Oliver. “During these uncertain economic times, it is more important than ever to help our neighbors in need.”
Texas Mutual employees responded, donating a company-record $146,241 to the United Way in 2008. We have raised $1.5 million for United Way partner agencies since 1993. The United Way invests the money in the financial stability, health and education of our neighbors in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Lubbock.
In 2008, the United Way recognized Texas Mutual for hosting an educational, organized and successful employee giving campaign.
Year-round giving
The United Way campaign is Texas Mutual’s biggest charitable event of the year, but it is not our only one. Our employees are always looking for ways to serve their communities. Sometimes, their generosity hits home when it is needed most.
For one day this fall, visitors to Arlington Charities were greeted by a sign that read, “Temporarily out of food! Please check back. We’re sorry.”
It was the first time in 31 years that the organization had to turn away people in need. With demand rising and supply shrinking, Arlington Charities needed help.
Meanwhile, employees in Texas Mutual’s Dallas regional office had been hosting a food drive for charity. After reading a newspaper article about the organization’s predicament, our employees donated more than 1,100 canned goods and nonperishable items.“We were scraping bottom,” said Melanie Gibson, executive director of Arlington Charities. “This donation came at just the right time. Private donations mean so much, especially during a crisis like we were experiencing.”
Dallas regional office employees’ giving nature is common in every Texas Mutual office. Our Austin, Houston and Lubbock regional offices donate school supplies to area children, give blood to local blood banks and collect holiday gifts for the elderly.
For Sareta Veal of our Austin corporate office, volunteering with Meals on Wheels is a way to pass on the generosity that was shown to her grandparents.
“When my grandmother began to age, she could no longer cook,” said Veal. “My mother and her siblings contacted the local council on aging to deliver meals to my grandparents. It was the highlight of my grandfather’s day when those representatives showed up. They took the time to do this for my family, and I want to do the same for someone else.”