HISIG to cover more retail stores
HISIG Gains Regulator OK for Expansion into Retail
The Home Improvement Self-Insured Group (HISIG), a California Workers’ Compensation program, has received state approval to provide coverage to an expanded list of retail store operations. HISIG, launched in 2005 to help employers control Workers’ Comp costs in the retail home improvement sector, added its 110th member on June 1. The regulatory approval takes immediate effect and will make HISIG the only Workers’ Comp self-insured group program available to many types of retail stores.
Some of the stores the group hopes to attract include sporting goods, drug stores, hobby and crafts, electronics, beauty supply, art supply, gift shops and other stores that fall into the broadest retail classification used by the Workers Compensation Industrial Rating Bureau.
Garth Smith, owner of Dale Hardware in Fremont and the Chair of the Board of Trustees, expects significant growth ahead for the California Workers’ Compensation program.
“There are a number of trends in California Workers’ Comp that worry employers. The reforms of 2004 that controlled runaway costs are under heavy pressure from applicant attorneys and you can see some erosion. In HISIG we have introduced programs like our nurse triage that have been very successful in helping our members help employees and control costs. We are excited that more retail stores are going to be able to take advantage of what we have been able to do.”
The HISIG expansion will be lead by Scanlon Guerra Burke of Woodland Hills and their selected team of other California insurance agencies. SGB became the master broker for the HISIG program when they added Rusty Russell to their team in April. Russell was the broker who worked with employers to establish the Home Improvement Self-Insured Group in 2005.
