How to Regain Control of Your Workers’ Compensation Costs

3-minute read

Your Experience Modification Factor, or e-mod, is an important component used in calculating your workers’ compensation premium. If you can control your e-mod, you can lower your workers' compensation costs. We’ve gathered the following tips to help improve your bottom line.

1. Familiarize yourself with how your e-mod is calculated, which typically involves comparing your company's actual workers' compensation losses to the expected losses for businesses of a similar size and industry.
2. Investigate accidents immediately and thoroughly; take corrective action to eliminate hazards and be aware of fraud.
3. Report all claims to your carrier immediately. Alert the carrier to any serious, potentially serious or suspect claims. Frequently monitor the status of the claim and communicate with the adjuster to resolve them as quickly as possible. (Be sure to let us know in the event of serious or suspect claims.)
4. Make sure light-duty work options are built into your operations. This way, when injured employees are medically cleared for light duty work but not yet able to perform their regular job duties, you'll be able to offer them temporary modified work assignments. This allows employees to stay engaged and productive while they recover and can help reduce workers' compensation claim costs.
5. Set safety performance goals for those with supervisory responsibility. Success in achieving safety goals should be used as one measure during performance appraisals.
6. Develop a written safety program, and train employees in their responsibilities for safety. Incorporate a disciplinary policy into the program that holds employees accountable for breaking rules or rewards them for correctly following safety procedures.
7. Frequently communicate with employees, both formally and informally, regarding the importance of safety in helping keep them safe and to keep workers' compensation costs in line.
8. Make safety a priority. Senior management must be visible in the safety effort and must support improvement.
9. Evaluate accident history and near-misses at least monthly. Look for trends and take corrective action on the worst problems first.

This article is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel or an insurance professional for appropriate advice.