The National Safety Council’s (NSC) recently issued the report, Prescription Pain Medications: A Fatal Cure for Injured Workers, identifies 15 court cases from 2009 through 2015, where an employer was sued because of the prescribed use of opioids to treat workplace injuries. Many injured workers who were prescribed opioid painkillers have become addicted, suffered additional […]
Many businesses accept on “good faith” that the Workers’ Comp audit is done correctly. Yet, the audit process is complex and prone to many errors and omissions. Since a Workers’ Compensation premium is estimated initially, the actual cost is determined through the premium audit, which can result in higher and unexpected costs. There are two […]
It is obvious, yet often overlooked, factor in controlling the costs of Workers’ Compensation. It is the immediate supervisor, or more accurately, the person who is the perceived loss of the injured employee. While this may seem like a no-brainer, in the typical injury management process the supervisor’s involvement ends after the due diligence of […]
How do companies keep score in workers’ compensation? Typically insurance carriers provide basic or “top of the line measurements,” such as annual totals of claim expenditures, average claims costs for medical only claims and average claims costs for lost time claims to employers. They may even break down some injury costs by department. Not surprisingly, […]
Workers’ Compensation rates have been trending downward, as have the number of job-related injuries. Even injuries totaling $50,000 or more dropped for the first time in 2005. But before we let loose the balloons and congratulate ourselves on what is clearly a notable achievement for American business, there’s another side of the story that deserves […]
Throughout much of the country, declining Workers’ Compensation rates are music to employers’ ears. After all, that seems like long-awaited good news, particularly since Workers’ Compensation is more often than not viewed as a necessity and a significant cost of doing business. Yet, looking at Workers’ Compensation as a business necessity or a commodity is […]
“We’ve got an employee who’s abusing the system and we’re just about fed up. So are our people.” Every insurance agent has heard these words from frustrated employers who are certain injured workers are taking advantage of the Workers’ Compensation system. While we all know such abuses occur, they may be far less frequent than […]
One of the most confusing components of an employer’s Workers’ Compensation Policy is the Experience Modification Factor. They watch it increase and decrease from year to year – higher Experience Modification Factors generally increase costs and lower factors reduce them. What’s often missing is an understanding of how the Experience Mod factor works and what […]
Most business owners and managers purchase Workers’ Compensation in the wrong way. About 90 to 120 days before their policies expire, they put it out to bid and get quotes. Once in, they review the prices and usually select the policies with the lowest premiums. While this may sound like a good business approach, it’s […]
If the anecdotal evidence can be trusted, it’s becoming more and more common that contractors are being put on notice that they will lose the opportunity to bid on jobs if their Workers’ Compensation Experience Mods hit a certain point. To ensure that general contractors aren’t disqualified, it appears that some risk managers are putting […]
