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Pharmacy Benefit Managers Report Significant Decrease in Trends for 2015

It’s that time of year again, the time when Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) release their annual drug trend analyses for the prior year.  To the surprise of many, the two largest PBMs in the country, CVS Caremark (CVS) and Express Scripts (ESI), reported 2015 trends at less than half of 2014 trends. CVS reported their annual trend at 5.0% while ESI reported a trend of 5.2%.  Compare these trends to the approximate 12% trend reported in 2014 – a shocker right?  According to CVS, brand-name drug inflation drove to 80% of aggregate drug trend.

Let’s break these numbers down a bit more.  ESI reported that specialty drugs trended at 17.8% while non-specialty drugs trended at -0.1%.  High specialty drug trends are nothing new and are here to stay. You should expect specialty drug trends to remain around 17% and drive an overall drug trend of roughly 7.5% over the next several years.

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Slips, Trips and Falls

A janitorial employee was scrubbing the steps and floors with water and a cleaning agent.  An observant worker realized that soon dozens of employees would be going down the same steps to exit the building for their lunch break.  This person then took the proper action to avert this potentially dangerous situation and set up a wet floor sign.

Do Your Safety Part

Slips, trips and falls constitute the majority of general industry accidents.  They cause 15% of all accidental deaths and are second only to motor vehicles as a cause of fatalities.  An unguarded wet floor is just one of the many possible causes.  It is important to spot unsafe conditions that could lead to slips, trips and falls, and do what you can to prevent them.

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Hiring Safe Drivers for Commercial Vehicles

The majority of auto accidents are caused by driver error, whether it be following too closely, speeding, driving distracted, driving under the influence or a variety of other reasons.  As a business owner, you have control over who operates your vehicles and you should take this responsibility seriously.  Don’t underestimate the importance of making sure you are hiring a safe driver before you allow them to operate one of your fleet.  Always have an applicant sign a waiver permitting you to obtain a motor vehicle record (MVR) before you make a hiring decision.  If there is any doubt about the acceptability of the record, forward it to your Risk Advisor or insurance company for their guidance before allowing the applicant to drive a commercial vehicle.

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Drones for Commercial Use What You Should Know Before Taking Your Company to the Skies

Few technology gadgets have the potential of the modern-day drone – potential for exciting, innovative uses, but also potential for risk. Known sometimes by its more descriptive name, quadcopter, or its official name, Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), the drone continues to increase in popularity for both recreational and commercial purposes.

While today’s drones may seem easy to operate, enjoying the benefits of this emerging technology is not nearly as simple as unboxing and launching your “eye in the sky”. Business owners and purchasing agents who believe a drone might be a useful addition to their operations should weigh the risks and understand the regulations and requirements associated with commercial drone use.

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Personal Insurance Consumer Risk Index Concern Over Cyber Risk Increases More than 20 Percentage Points from Previous Year

According to the 2015 Consumer Risk Index from Travelers, financial risk continues to top the list of major concerns for Americans. However, fear over cyber risk has grown considerably, making it one of the top three consumer risks in 2015.

Cyber Risk – There has been a dramatic increase in how many Americans worry about cyber risk, from 36% in 2014 to 57% in 2015. Leading the list of specific cyber risk concerns is the fear of bank accounts being hacked (62%).

Financial Concerns & Risks – Americans list financial security as their top concern for the third straight year. Of the 66% that worry about this issue, almost half worry a great deal.

Personal Privacy or Identity Theft – Six out of ten Americans worry about losing personal information or privacy, with 25% worrying a great deal.

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