Workers’ Compensation Rates are based on several criteria.  Among them are Payroll, Industry and Experience.  Changes in any of these can cause a variance in a company’s Workers’ Comp Premium.

• Payroll – Employers report their payroll twice a year to the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.  This information is used to calculate the next billing.
• Industry – The industry classification is a major factor in rating a group.
• Experience – Claims from the previous five years (excluding the most recent year) are used in the calculation.
  

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) and the Industrial Commission of Ohio (IC) comprise the Ohio workers’ compensation system, which includes state-fund employers and self-insuring employers.

Under the state-fund program, BWC pays compensation directly to injured workers.  Self-insuring employers pay their own workers’ compensation claims and are monitored by BWC.

• Have a minimum of 500 employees within Ohio
• Possess two-years’ experience with the state insurance fund
• Demonstrate strong financial stability
• Possess the ability to administer workers’ compensation insurance
• Maintain an account with a financial institution in Ohio, or draw compensation checks from the same account as the payroll checks
• Have a BWC-certified Qualified Health Plan (QHP)

Once an employer becomes self-insured, the employer is responsible for paying assessments to the self-insured guaranty fund for the first three years of self-insurance.  BWC bases the guaranty fund assessment on the total of an employer’s last two state-fund payroll premiums at base rate, multiplied by 6 percent. The minimum assessment is $5,000 for any 12-month period of coverage.

In addition, self-insuring employers must reimburse disabled workers’ relief fund (DWRF) payments on a semiannual basis.  This fund is for permanently and totally disabled employees whose workers’ compensation benefits have not kept up with inflation. BWC bills the employer dollar for dollar regardless of the date of injury.  The buy-out agreement does not cover this liability.

For the first five years of self-insurance, BWC adds the indemnity payments made on the state-fund claims to the amount of paid compensation reported by the self-insuring employer to establish the assessment base.

Workers’ compensation claim files must be housed at an Ohio location of the self-insuring employer.  Should the employer wish to maintain claim files out of the state, prior approval must be obtained through the BWC’s Self-Insured Department.

Is an incident/accident report to be completed for all work related injuries and occupational diseases?

Yes, an incident report is to be completed for all work related injuries and occupational diseases.  Company policy may require that a separate incident report be completed by the injured worker and a company representative (e.g. supervisor, safety manager, etc.)

There are a few requirements set by the State.  Those are:

• A Company must be current on all Workers’ Compensation obligations (i.e., premiums, administrative costs, assessments, fines, etc.)
• A Company cannot have cumulative lapses that exceed 59 days during the 18 month period prior to the group filing deadline.
• A Company must be in active status as of the group filing deadline (last business day in February) and must stay active until the beginning of the policy year (July 1)
• A Company must also be a member of the organization that is sponsoring the group.

Further, in order to receive an invitation to join any group, a Company must have a good loss history

Once CRM receives your AC-3, we will process it with the BWC to obtain risk information relative to your Company.  Our group rating department will review that information and determine whether your Company qualifies for a group.  The Company will then receive an invitation to join the group, which will include the proposed savings, an invoice for any fees and the necessary enrollment documents.

If a Company is not qualified, it will receive a letter indicating that our association was not able to offer a position in a group.

Currently, the BWC does allow certain programs to be “stacked” (i.e., a Company can be involved in more than one program).  Companies in a group rating program can also participate in the Drug Free Workplace Program and receive the additional discount, but only up to a maximum discount of 95%.

Also, the BWC allows stacking the Premium Discount Program and Drug Free Workplace Program. 

• The Premium Discount Program deadline changes from year to year.  Generally, the deadline is 35 days after the BWC publishes the rates for the current rating year.  The filing deadline is usually during mid to late August.
• The Drug Free Workplace Program deadline is somewhat flexible.  The typical deadlines are August 1 for a July 1 effective date and February 1 for a January 1 effective date. 
• The Retrospective Rating deadline is June 1 for the policy year starting on July 1.
  

As long as the Company has an experience modifier that is not better than .90, it will qualify.  A few other requirements are:

• A Company cannot have any outstanding balances with the BWC.
• A Company must have active coverage.
• A Company must not have cumulative lapses exceeding 59 days.
• A Company must implement 5 steps of the BWC’s 10 Step Business Plan and satisfy the BWC’s reporting/implementation requirements.