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 […]

Like most agents, you work hard at writing new accounts, what salespeople through the years have referred to as “getting the fish in the boat.” But it doesn’t take a master angler to know that once you get the fish, you must still make sure it doesn’t jump out. Then it’s back to square one. […]

Supervisors play a key role in the management of injuries, return‐to‐work and reasonable accommodations under ADA. While supervisors may be well trained in the functional aspects of maintaining a safe workplace, reporting injuries, investigating injuries and return‐to‐work programs, many fall short in their interaction with injured employees and their well‐meaning actions can be costly to […]