Category: Workers’ Compensation

Control the Variables: Keeping Workers Comp Costs In Line

Workers Compensation sounds pretty cut-and-dried, right?  Your rate – determined by the state where your company is located and the type of business – gets multiplied by your total payroll and then divided by 100.

But then modifiers enter the picture, which can raise or lower your costs, based on your loss history, or the record of measurably reducing the risk of injury to employees.  Naturally, you want a modifier that drives your workers comp costs down.  Here are some ideas on how to do just that.

  1. Save Money on Workers’ Comp Insurance – The same as selecting car or health insurance, it’s important to shop around for the best workers’ compensation insurance policies.
  2. Ensure You’re Following Workers’ Comp Claims Management Best Practices – By making sure your claims adjuster always follows best practices associated with claims management, payouts can be reduced by up to 50%.
  3. Focus on Safety – Create and embed a true safety culture, continually providing information on safe processes and procedures, instituting regular safety checks, and characterizing safety less in terms of statistics and more by how injuries impact people and their families.
  4. Have an injury procedure in place – It is essential to manage any injuries quickly and effectively before they become worse, and for managers and employees to know their roles and responsibilities when someone is hurt at work.
  5. Start an Incentive Program for New Hires – Employees, especially new hires, often benefit from incentive programs that reward them for learning the safety protocol. Older employees can also be encouraged to help the newer hires learn about the culture of safety through group incentives.
  6. Implement a Return-to-Work Program – Maintaining ongoing communication with injured employees leads to them returning to the job faster, which means returning to a regular paycheck for them and lower overall costs to the company.
  7. Check With Your State – Some states offer discounts if a company implements a program that promotes safety, so it’s worth checking on your state’s policies.
  8. Review Your Employee Classifications – The simple act of ensuring that each employee is classified correctly regarding his or her current job can represent substantial savings.

When you understand and control the variables surrounding workers comp coverage, you can achieve the modifier level that leads to better control of those costs.  Plus, in virtually every example cited here, it’s the proper, practical, and ethical thing to do, as well.  Contact the workers comp professionals at The Reschini Group today to learn more.

Copyright 2022 The Reschini Group

The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only, and does not provide legal advice.  To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

Source: https://news.briotix.com/9-workers-compensation-cost-reduction-strategies

The Reschini Blog: Workers’ Comp and the Pandemic

Believe it or not, 2020 may not have been such a bad year for workers’ compensation insurers and insureds after all.

The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) looked at results through the third quarter of 2020 and extended those through the end of the year, using data from private carriers and state funds in 41 jurisdictions. The NCCI figures are calendar year and do not reflect the full costs of treating COVID-19 or other health conditions with long-term effects.

Overall for 2020, NCCI found:

  • Worker claims due to COVID-19 have ranged from no symptoms to critical care, hospitalizations and, unfortunately, fatalities in some cases.
  • The overall COVID-19 claims picture is by no means dire, with the majority of cases only requiring the injured worker to miss work and quarantine or recover at home.
  • About 80% of the COVID claimants received very limited treatment, with 20% admitted to the hospital, representing the costliest and most complicated cases.
  • The typical COVID inpatient stay lasts on average about seven to eight days.
  • The majority of workers filing COVID workers’ compensation claims were women, at nearly 70%. These claimants are also generally older than the typical injured worker, with a large share age 55 years and older.
  • Also, injured workers who contracted COVID-19 and required medical treatment were more likely to have comorbidities such as hypertension and chronic pulmonary disorder.
  • COVID-19 claims were predominantly among frontline workers, first responders, healthcare and other essential workers, and teachers.

As the Delta variant surges across the U.S., it will be important to see how trends impacting workers’ compensation claims mirror or diverge from those seen from the initial round of COVID-19.

For more information, contact the workers’ compensation experts at The Reschini Group.

Download our resources about Workers Comp and COVID:

 

Copyright 2021 The Reschini Group

The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only, and does not provide legal advice.  To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.