Affiliated with New Mexico Home Builders Association

2nd Quarter Edition 2015

Your newsletter for quality workers’ compensation

information

BUILDERS TRUST

BLUEPRINTS

Inside this issue

Page 2 International Builders’ Show Page 2 By The Numbers Page 2 HBA Dues Page 3 Safety Visits Page 3 Confidentiality Statement Back Page Safety Training Classes

Builders Trust of New Mexico affiliated with New Mexico Home Builders Association

Board of

Trustees

Kevin McGinley Chairman

Mesilla

Randy Crowder Secretary/Treasurer

Clovis

Mark Carpenter Trustee - Clovis

John Jourdan

Trustee - Hobbs

Wayne Rutherford Trustee -Taos

Lee Rawson

Trustee - Las Cruces

Bob Dolgener Trustee - Ruidoso

Michael Drunzer

Trustee - Alamogordo

Rick Davis Trustee - Albuquerque

Rob Liessmann Advisor Trustee

Farmington

Craig Kemper Advisor Trustee

Albuquerque

Skip Mead Ex-Officio

Tijeras

Jack Milarch Ex-Officio

Albuquerque

After a worker is injured (and following any emergency treatment) either the worker or the employer can choose who will provide continuing medical care for the injury. And who makes the initial choice can be very important.

In every case of a worker’s injury a choice of medical provider will be made, with or without the employer even realizing that has been done. Our state law mandates that this choice will be made either one way or the other. We understand that most employers have probably not given this issue much thought. Unless one of your workers has had a serious injury with a long term recovery time you have probably not been introduced to the importance of this “right”.

So what should you do? We strongly advise that you let the worker choose the initial medical provider for treatment of the injury and that you do this in writing so it is clear how that choice has been made. There are a couple reasons why this is our advice to employers.

There is credible evidence that a worker will respond better to treatment if the worker is comfortable with the treatment provided, and letting the worker choose usually contributes to that comfort, and hopefully, to a quicker recovery and to getting the worker back on the job as soon as possible.

If, in the opinion of the Builders Trust claims manager, treatment isn’t going well and the worker isn’t getting better, the employer (via the BT claims manager) can re-direct care to the medical provider of our choice.

This right to switch is a one-time opportunity (i.e. for the life of the claim), and it cuts both ways. If the employer made the first choice, then the injured worker can switch to the provider of their choice, and this can be done whether or not we agree with the choice. In the most difficult and long term injuries this can impact costs and outcomes dramatically. Builders Trust has years of experience with medical providers who specialize in work related injuries and we believe we can direct care to the best medical outcome and most cost effective outcome especially in the most complicated and severe cases. Because of that we want you to preserve our option to make the SECOND CHOICE of medical care provider by allowing the injured worker to make the FIRST CHOICE.

We can provide a simple form to facilitate this choice-of-provider process and explain how it works in more detail. For more information contact the Builders Trust claims department and speak to Ethan LeCam, Claims Manager or Michael Hamsing, VP of Claims.

Help us protect your business with proper claims handling. We strive to pay what we owe and defend against paying what we don’t owe!

Getting Smarter About Workers’ Compensation

Why Choosing the Provider of an Injured Worker’s Medical Care Is Important

Builders Trust of New Mexico affiliated with New Mexico Home Builders Association

Blueprints - 2nd Quarter Edition www.builderstrust.com® 2

NAHB International Builders’ Show

BY THE NUMBERS

$42,286 Total interest paid on deposits in May 2015

753 The number of Participants that received an interest payment on their 2014 deposit.

$2,771,673 Total payments Builders Trust has made on deposits since inception. Although Builders Trust isn’t required by law to pay interest on deposits your Board of Trustees has elected to do so. For 2014 interest payments were calculated at a 1.5%.

One way Builders Trust seeks to fulfill our Mission is by focusing on “Our Core Values.” We feel we accomplish this in

part by providing scholarships to the NAHB International Builders’ Show. One eligible winner from each of the nine local

HBAs throughout New Mexico is chosen to attend and reimbursed up to $1,100 for their registration, airline and hotel

expenses. This was the ninth consecutive year Builders Trust has sponsored Participants for this event.

This past year’s show was held in Las Vegas in January and those that were in attendance were not disappointed. With

over 3,700 exhibitors and more than 55,200 attendees from around the globe there was something for everyone. Some

of the comments from Builders Trust winners included:

Paul Chavez (Valley Fence Company - Albuquerque) sat in on an education session and was reminded of the

importance of Safety. Paul went on to say, “Being safe not only protects our employees, but it actually is cost-effective

in the long run.”

Lawrence Fierro (Fierro Enterprises, LLC - Las Cruces) was impressed with the floor exhibits indicating “The vast

majority of booths and exhibits were truly amazing,” and he went on to say, “Not only did they capture your attention but

they all were very professionally staffed as well as professionally displayed.”

Joe Dan Ortiz (Live Wire Electric LLC - Ruidoso) went on to say, “I’ve heard from building contractors that a person

could walk for three days and still not see everything that IBS has to offer and I now know what they meant.”

Enclosed in this edition of BluePrints is the entry form for a chance to win a trip to the 2016 International Builders’ Show

which will take place January 19-21, 2016, in Las Vegas, NV. Be sure to read the eligibility requirements and turn it in

before the deadline of August 3, 2015.

Home Builders Association Dues

It has been just over five months since we started our installment plan for dues payments by Participants and the process has been going very smoothly. We have already enrolled 44% of all Participants and over the next seven months will enroll the remainder.

As a reminder for those that haven't been enrolled yet, this process will take place at the time your normal annual HBA dues. Typically your association will send you an invoice three months before your renewal date with wording indicating not to pay the invoice and to simply acknowledge the amount and return it to them. Builders Trust then remits your dues payment to your local association and we then set you up with an installment plan to re-pay Builders Trust 1/12th of the amount with each monthly payroll report.

We have received a lot of positive feedback from Participants and the local HBAs indicating that this is a great service and the ease of setting it up is painless.

If you have any questions regarding this valuable benefit be sure to contact our Service Center Dept. at 1-800-640-3369 or 505-345-3477.

Just Another Great Benefit of Being a Participant!

Blueprints - 2nd Quarter Edition www.builderstrust.com® 3

Confidentiality Statement Builders Trust of New Mexico (Builders Trust) is a workers’ compensation group self-insurance fund. Builders

Trust values its Participants and works diligently every day to honor the trust you place in us. Below is our

Confidentiality Statement which outlines our commitment to carefully protect the non-public confidential

information you provide us.

Builders Trust’s Commitment to You Includes:

• We require organizations and independent

contractors that provide services on Builders Trust’s

behalf to keep this information strictly confidential

and to only use it to provide the specific services that

Builders Trust has requested they perform.

• We are committed to protecting your information

at every level of our organization with physical,

electronic and procedural safeguards.

• We do not share any information with other

organizations or individuals outside of Builders

Trust that would use your information to contact

you about their own products or services.

• We do not sell any information about our

Participants or Insured Workers to third parties.

• Within Builders Trust, we safeguard this

information carefully.

The Trustees and Management of Builders Trust hope this Confidentiality Statement helps in answering any concerns you may have. If you have any questions or other concerns, please

contact our Service Center at 505-345-3477 or 1-800-640-3369.

Builders Trust of New Mexico affiliated with New Mexico Home Builders Association

What Does a Builders Trust Safety Visit Mean to YOU? Money in your Pocket!

A visit or inspection by a Builders Trust Field Safety specialist is a way to help you and your employees stay prepared and organized for safety. It’s a little time out of your day that pays you back many times over in increased productivity, prevention of losses, and keeping your people (including you!) from getting hurt. Your Builders Trust policy requires a safety inspection once a year by our safety staff. The state also requires most contractors to have an annual safety inspection, and your Builders Trust safety visit fulfills that requirement. Our goal is that your safety inspection will add real value to your work process. We don’t seek to “catch” our Participants doing something wrong. Instead, we work in partnership with our Participant/Owners to point out safety hazards in order to reduce accidents and injuries and safeguard one of your most valuable assets – your employees. Help us help you When Builders Trust can operate efficiently, you save money. To help us serve you most efficiently, you can:

Respond promptly when we contact you to set up a safety visit. Don’t avoid or postpone; give this the priority it deserves.

Pick a time when at least one job site will be available for the visit.

Arrange your schedule so that you will be able to give the safety visit your full attention, and make sure key staff members will be present.

Keep the appointment! When a Participant cancels at the last minute, our staff time is wasted. That expense is shared with all our Participants.

Remember, we’re on your side. Builders Trust safety services are built into the cost of your workers' compensation insurance premium. You’re already paying for them. So it’s only logical for you to take advantage of these services. Pay a little to keep your people safe and productive. Don’t pay a lot for the cost of accidents and injuries.

Builders Trust of New Mexico

P.O. Box 91330

Albuquerque, NM 87199

www.builderstrust.com ®

PRST STD

US POSTAGE

PAID

ALBUQUERQUE, NM

PERMIT NO. 935

PLEASE ENJOY THIS COMPLIMENTARY ISSUE OF BT BLUEPRINTS

To find out how you can join Builders Trust of New Mexico AND receive the best value in workers’ compensation coverage for New Mexico Home Builders Association members, please contact our

Marketing General Agent Ronnie Letcher at Ronnie Letcher, MGA, LLC at 1-888-618-6022

Builders Trust offers a wide variety of safety classes throughout the state including: 10 Hour OSHA, 30 Hour OSHA, Defensive Driving, 1st Aid and CPR, as well as, Fall Protection, Scaffolding, Personal Protective Equipment, Excavation, Ladder Safety and so many more. All at prices that are very affordable. Example: A 10 Hour OHSA class only runs $30.00 and a portion of that we forward to OSHA to have the OSHA card issued. Builders Trust regularly emails to the contact person we have on file notifications of upcoming classes. It is important that these emails are forwarded to your safety officer or foreman for consideration.

We also post a three month training calendar on our web site, www.builderstrust.com, so you can view training that is taking place throughout the state should you have workers at locations other than at your main office. Visit our website for more information.

Safety Training Classes