An Interview with Sylvia Wilkins, from the Home Office

You’ve been with the company for a long time. What’s changed since you started? I’ve been with Chan for over 19 years—20 in October. I started out with Mining Insurance Markets and have watched as the company changed and grew. When AMIC started, it was just 5 people and now, it has grown to 56 employees.

Automation and technology have made huge changes to the insurance industry. That and, of course, September 11 and Katrina. State and Federal regulations are always changing, plus we now have to deal with disasters and terrorism on a much bigger scale than before. Health insurance is another big and growing concern within the industry as a whole.

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MINER Law Passes

The recently passed (June 15) Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act is the first revision to federal mine safety laws since 1977, when the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act was signed into law. The law now includes provisions to do the following:

• require each undergound coal mine to develop and update a written emergency response plan
• require each underground coal mine to make available two experienced rescue teams capable of a one-hour response time
• require wireless two-way communications and tracking system within the next three years
• provides MSHA with the authority to request an injunction to shut down a mine in cases where the mine operator has refused to pay a final MSHA penalty
• raises the criminal penalty cap to $250,000 for first offenses and $500,000 for second offenses, as well as establishing a maximum civil penalty of $220,000 for flagrant violations
• creates a scholarship program to mitigate an anticipated shortage of trained miners and MSHA enforcement personnel
• establishes the Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants program to provide training grants to better identify, avoid and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around mines

Other Mining News:

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