17.2% Decrease for North Carolina Workers Compensation Rates 2019

North Carolina Workers Comp Rates will be declining in 2019

In 2019, businesses in the state of North Carolina will pay on average 17.2 percent less for workers compensation. This decrease is in addition to a 8.5% decrease in 2016 and a 12.5% decrease in 2017. This is great news for North Carolina. In 2018, North Carolina ranked near the middle of the national average. A 2018 study ranks NC as the 23 highest in premium rates across the United States making their average rates 4% higher than the national average. A similar study done in 2016 ranked the state as 27th for average rates. North Carolina’s median rates are currently on par with the average rates in the U.S. This decrease should lower the states ranking and considering North Carolina is the 10th most populous state, this is great news for the business community.

Why are North Carolina Workers Compensation Insurance Rates Declining in 2019

North Carolina Workers Compensation Rates 2019 are decreasing primarily as a result of insurance carriers processing fewer claims and paying out less for workers’ compensation claims. Because of these declines in claims and payouts, the carriers are able to pass on the savings to customers. Now not all industries are going to see the same amount of decrease. Some industries may fair better than others. According to the North Carolina Rating Bureau (NCRB), manufacturing industry groups will experience an average drop of 15.8 percent, contracting industry groups will see a decrease of 6.5 percent, and both office and clerical as well as goods and services will see an average of 19.3 percent decrease to both industries.

Requirements for Workers Comp Coverage in North Carolina?

In the state of North Carolina employers with three or more regular, full, or part-time employees are required to secure workers comp coverage. This includes all corporations and non-profits. Sole Proprietors, Partners, and LLC Members are automatically excluded from coverage, but have the ability to elect coverage. Corporate officers are included on all policies, but can exclude themselves using the Accord 130 form.

Payroll Requirements for Business Owners in North Carolina

Sole Proprietors and Partners who include themselves on coverage must use an annual payroll of $46,900 for rating purposes as of 04/01/2019. Corporate Officers who do not exclude themselves from coverage must do so at a minimum payroll of $46,800 and a maximum annual payroll of $93,600 as of 01/01/2019.

What is Unique about the Workers Comp System in North Carolina?

Experience Modification Rating

The Workers Compensation System in the state of North Carolina is unique because the state calculates the Experience Modification Rating of business on its own. The department that does this is the North Carolina Rate Bureau (NCRB). Most states partner with the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) to establish these ratings. North Carolina does report claims to NCCI for the purpose of determining interstate modifiers. This applies to employers who operate in North Carolina and other states throughout the country.

Waiver of Subrogation

Waivers of Subrogation are no longer required in North Carolina. They are not required because North Carolina Law establishes that a principal contractor is not responsible for subcontractors. This may cause contractors to face unique challenges throughout the state. Regardless, general contractors may be liable for injuries and coverage of uninsured subcontractors. In some instances, a general contactor may charge subcontractor for the cost of workers compensation while working on various jobsites.

The North Carolina Business Community will be seeing improvements next year in the form of lower workers compensation rates. This good news resulted from insurance carriers processing fewer claims and paying out less for the claims that were processed. These improvements are attributed to technology improving the efficiency in improvements and the safety of the workforce. In light of these savings, business owners should consult with their insurance agent to make sure they are maximizing all possible savings when it comes to workers compensation as well as all other forms of commercial insurance. Partnering with an independent agent is the most efficient way to ensure comprehensive coverage at the lowest rate possible.

How can Businesses Ensure Maximum Savings on North Carolina Workers Compensation Rates 2019

Partner with an Independent Agent

Partnering with an Independent Agent is one of the best ways a business can make sure to get maximum coverage at rock-bottom rates. This is a fact because an independent agent is not pressured to sell you the coverage of one insurance carrier. An independent agent can shop your policy out to multiple carriers. Multiple carriers competing for your business can get your business better coverage at better rates. Additionally, the independent agent knows which carriers are hungry to quote the policies you are looking for, in the particular state you are located, and in the industry your business operates. This inside knowledge can save you time and money when looking for coverage.

Control Your Experience Modification Rating

The experience modification rating of a business is crucial to limiting what the business pays for premium. The first thing an underwriter looks at when determining if they are going to offer coverage to a business and what to charge that business for coverage, is the classification code of the business and the experience modification rating of that business. Controlling this rating is one of the more impactful aspect a business has control over. Especially related to what the business pays for commercial insurance, especially workers compensation.

Prepare for Natural Disasters

In North Carolina, Natural Disasters are a risk to consider. This is the case no matter what part of the state you are located. Hurricanes and flooding are especially important to speak with your insurance agent about. The amount of risk you are comfortable with may not be the same as other business owners. If this is the case, it is important to express this to your agent. Tell them what you do, what the climate is like, and the level of risk you’re comfortable. With this knowledge, a good independent agent should be able to find several packages to suit your needs.

Develop an In-depth Safety Program

Safety Programs are one of the most cost effective ways for a business to save money. Not only can an effective safety program help a business save on commercial insurance, it can also help save money in many other ways. Lowering damage to equipment, less missed days by injured employees, and a happier workforce are at the top of the list of ways a business can benefit from an effective safety program.

Include a Return-to-Work Program

A Return-to-Work Program is something that can be implemented in tandem with a safety program and save your business immensely when you do experience an injured worker. Statistics show, the quicker an employee gets back to work, the more likely they are to return to work. This will save your business considerably by not damaging your experience modification rating, by not having to deal with a missing or injured employee, and by not having to retrain a new employee to do what the injured employee had experience with.

Exclude Owners

An Owner Exclusion in North Carolina is generally permitted for a business to exclude themselves from workers’ compensation insurance. This is true for every form of business. That includes sole-proprietors, partners, LLC owners, and corporations. Owners who decide to exclude coverage on themselves are not covered in the event they are injured on the job. If the business is willing to take on the risk, excluding the owners from coverage can save each year on workers compensation premium.

Ask about Credits and Discounts

North Carolina law allows insurance carriers to apply scheduled credits up to 25% of the full premium on each individual workers compensation insurance policy. This is in addition to credits already given to the policy holder.Credits are typically given because of a good Experience Modification Rate. Credits are usually given for management experience, no prior claims, and profitability of an account. Employers should always take additional time to speak long and honestly with their insurance agent to inform them about every positive the business has to offer. It is equally important to request additional credits when shopping workers compensation quotes.

Florida Workers Comp Rates Remain in Flux for 2019

Florida Workers Comp Rates 2019 are headed in a positive direction.

In 2019, Florida Workers Comp Rates are improving for the business community throughout the state. The decline amounts to a deduction of 13.9% and will contribute to a savings for business in Florida of approximately $454 million. This is good news because the Florida Workers Compensation System has been in flux for a number of years. This decrease is the third such decrease over the previous year and a half. Previous to these three decreases, the workers compensation rates had increased by 14.5% in 2016.

Florida Workers Comp Insurance Rates 2019

What Caused Florida Workers Compensation Rates 2019 to Decrease?

Florida Workers Comp Rates 2019 are decreasing because of significant improvements in experienced losses by insurance carriers. This means the insurance carriers paid out less in claims. Some within the industry credit safer workplaces, enhanced efficiencies in the workplace, and an increase in the use of technologies for the decrease in costs.

What is Unique about the Florida Workers Compensation System?

The most unique aspect of the Florida Workers Compensation System is that Florida is a No Competition State. This means Florida is one of the few remaining states in the country where every insurance company offering coverage within the state are required to offer the same rates and discounts as all other carriers. State mandated rates mean employers do not have to shop around as much as more competitive states. Business primarily need to be concerned about finding an insurance carrier willing to offer coverage on the voluntary market with the most cash flow friendly payment options and the business needs to avoid the Florida State Fund.

Pond with a waterfall and palm trees in the background at a Miami, Florida Golf Course.

Why have the Workers Comp Florida Rates 2019 Been in Flux?

For the past few years, workers compensation rates within the state of Florida have been in flux for a number of reasons. Two State Supreme Court Decisions have contributed to the instability. Those cases were Castellanos v. Next Door Company and Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg. Castellanos vs. Next Door Company made a previous 2009 ruling invalid, meaning judges no longer had to stick to the mandatory fee schedule and now can award additional compensation for attorney’s fees when offering judgments within the workers compensation system. The Westphal Case, had a ruling that ruled the 104-week statutory limitation on temporary total disability benefits is unconstitutional. This ruling extended this period to a 260-week limitation. This 260-week limit is more in line with states throughout the country and significantly increased the amount carriers had to pay for permanently disabled injured workers.

Another factor that has caused the workers compensation system in the state of Florida to be out of whack is State Senate Bill 1402. This bill accounted for 1.8% of the recent increase in premium by increasing the cost for updates within the Florida Workers’ Compensation HCPR Manual.

In addition to these issues, in 2017 the Florida Insurance Regulators took over Guarantee Insurance Company (The states assigned risk workers comp provider) because it had become insolvent. This left 1250 businesses in the state of Florida scrambling to find a workers comp carrier.

Epcot Center, Disney World, Orlando, Florida

What could be in store for future rates?

Hurricane Michael Relief

In response to Hurricane Michael, Florida Governor Rick Scott issued an emergency order that make sure “additional protections” are in place for Florida policyholders – including freezing any rate hikes for 90 days.

The order requires that insurers:

Provide an additional 90 days to policyholders to supply required information to their insurance company. Many Floridians were displaced during this dangerous storm, and providing additional time to submit information to insurance companies gives them needed flexibility.
Rescind for 90 days all non-renewals or cancellations issued to policyholders in the days leading up to Hurricane Michael. This gives policyholders 90 days to either renew their insurance policy, or find a new policy; and
Freeze any and all efforts to increase rates on policyholders for 90 days.

Independent Medical Review Program

Florida is looking in to implementing a 6-year-old independent medical review program for workers compensation claims. This program has been enacted by the state of California and has been a resounding success. Under this program disputes about the medical treatment of injured workers are resolved by physicians instead of by the courts. California has found this has enabled for a more efficient resolution of claims while reducing the need for lengthy and costly judicial processes.

New State Senate Promising to Revisit Florida’s Workers Comp Laws

The new President of the Senate in the state of Florida, Bill Galvano, is promising to revisit Florida’s workers’ compensation insurance laws. At a recent ceremony shortly after taking over as President of the Senate Galvano said, “I don’t want to be in a situation where they spike and then we are running to fix it at that point”. Statements like these from the leadership of the Florida legislature show the decision makers in the house are looking forward to attempt to provide a stable market for the business community and eliminate the volatility businesses have seen in recent years for Florida Workers Comp Rates.

Turtles and Alligator at Busch Gardens, Florida

Florida Workers Comp Requirements

There are several requirements for businesses operating within the state of Florida. First and foremost, non-construction companies with four or fewer employees are required to purchase employees. It does not matter if those employees are full or part-time. All construction related businesses are required to secure coverage no matter the number of employees within the business. Sole Proprietors and Partners are not required to cover themselves and are exempt from coverage. A corporation and LLC may exempt officers if each owner owns less then 10 percent of the stock in the business. Sole Proprietors and Partners are not required to cover themselves and they are automatically excluded. These people can elect to be covered using form DWC-251. Corporate Officers of non-construction businesses can exempt from coverage if they own stock and hold an office on the board of directors. LLC Members of non construction businesses are treated as employees, but may be exempt of they so choose.

Miami, Usa, Beach, Miami, Miami, Miami

What can Florida Business Owner do to Maximize Savings?

Shop around your Policy

It is not a wise decision to switch carriers every year for a slight decrease in premium. This is because when a claim does occur a carrier will take in to consideration how long you have been a customers of theirs when they are deciding to raise your rate or deny your business coverage. At the same time, it is important to make sure your business is getting a competitive rate. The best way to do this is to partner with an independent agent who can shop around your policy for you. This can save you time and usually result in lower premium payments on more comprehensive coverage.

Invest in Safety Protocols

Safety is the name of the game in any business. It is what is best for your employees as well as your customers. It is also important when it comes time to purchase commercial insurance. a safer business will have less claims and the claims it does have will be less severe. A small investment in a safety program can pay huge dividends when looking for the lowest Florida Workers Comp Rates.

Choose the Pay as You Go Option

Pay as You Go Workers Compensation Insurance is an excellent option for seasonal and cash strapped businesses. This option allows businesses to get coverage in place at a significantly lower rate than a traditional workers comp policy. Once a policy is in place, the premium is paid monthly based upon the actual payroll from the previous month. This is a great option if your business operates in an industry that has a hard time forecasting payroll for a number of reasons. If your payroll is significantly lower one month the payment will reflect that and the same will occur in months when your workforce represents more man hours. Finally, a Pay as You Go Policy prevents most mid-term audits from occurring because the payments are more accurate from month to month and not based upon an estimate from previous years payroll. This prevents an unwelcome surprise from occurring at the end of a term when a business under pays premium throughout the year and has an unexpected payment to end the year.

Indiana Workers Compensation 2019

Indiana Workers Compensation Rates are going down by an average of more than 7%.

Indiana Workers Compensation Rates 2019 will be going down by an amount of 7.6 percent on average for businesses throughout the state. The Department of Insurance approved the decrease in the month of October and the benefits go in to effect the first of January 2019. This savings is estimated to amount to a savings of more than $60 million for Indiana Businesses.

Indiana Workers Compensation

Why are Indiana Workers Compensation Rates 2019 Declining

Many things go in to what a business pays for workers compensation insurance. The experience modification rate of the business and the strength of the assigned risk provider in the particular state equate an enormous amount towards what a carrier decides to charge a business for coverage. Indiana Workers Compensation are decreasing because of lowering frequency of worker injuries. The department of insurance also credited a robust job market as a reason for lower rates because as the economy grows people open more businesses which create a larger base for insurers to collect premiums.

Indiana Farm In Winter

How can Business Owners Maximize saving on Indiana Workers Compensation Rates 2019?

Shop Around Your Indiana Workers Compensation Policy

It is never a good idea to switch carriers at the drop of a hat because of a small drop in premium. At the same time it is equally important to shop your policy around periodically to ensure your carrier is offering a competitive price. An efficient way to do this is to partner with an independent agent.

Use an Independent Agent

Partnering with an independent agent is always a great way to ensure maximum savings on the most comprehensive coverage available. An independent agent is a good partner because they can shop your policy around to multiple carriers in an attempt to get better coverage at lower rates by forcing the carriers to compete for your coverage. An independent agent will allow you to focus on running your business while your agent shops around your insurance policy.

Ensure Your Business is Classified Properly

Far too many businesses have employees that are not classified properly. If you have different types of employees than it is important to discuss this with your insurance agent at renewal. This can be an issue if you have some employees who are in office/clerical positions yet other employees who may be in other positions that are more physical in nature. When employees are classified improperly, it is typically cleared up during the post term audit. Even when t his mistake gets cleared up during the end of term audit, it still causes the business to either over pay throughout the year or have an unexpected additional payment at the end of the term. In order to not over or underpay your insurance premium, make sure you are placed in the proper classification code.

Why Do Work Comp Rates Vary From State to State?

Citizens of the United States enjoy a very high quality of life. According to a 2016 Business Insider Article, Americans enjoyed the 9th highest quality of life of any country in the world. Workers’ compensation coverage is a huge contributing factor to this quality of life. A strong workers’ compensation system provides the ‘exclusive remedy’ that helps prevent litigation between employers and employees when accidents happen on the job. When a strong Workers’ Compensation System is in place, employees are guaranteed some wage replacement while hurt and not able to work. Employees also receive payment for all medical expenses as a result of injuries that occur as a part of normal business operations. In turn, employers can rest easy knowing they will not be held liable for employee injuries, except in circumstances where the employer intended to cause the injury or was willfully negligent.

In the United States, Workers Comp Laws are left up to the state governments. In most states, employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. There are a few exceptions to that rule, but for the most part all employers are required to carry some baseline coverage to protect their injured workers. There are many things a state government must do to administer a workers compensation system. The two main things states do that can effect price are; determine a process for assigning rates on industry class codes and provide employers with a provider of last resort (state fund or assigned risk provider).

Provider of Last Resort

Rates can be strongly impacted by the strength of the provider of last resort. This is frequently referred to as the state fund or the assigned risk provider. The assigned risk provider is offered to employers who cannot find a carrier to offer them coverage on the open market. The business may not be able to find coverage on the open market because of their past claims history or because they operate in a high risk industry. How well the state goes about setting up this relationship goes a long way towards determining the rates employers pay for coverage in that state.

There are three main ways states go about providing this service.

State provided fund
Public-Private Partnership
Partner with an outside agency

The Workers’ Compensation Fund of Utah (WCF) and The California State Compensation Insurance Fund (CSCIF) are two examples of states who provide their own fund. These two states area good comparisons to show how rates are affected by either a strong or weak state fund. In Utah, The WCF has a 57 percent market share while the next largest provider owns only a 3 percent share of the market (2). In comparison, The CSCIF controls just over 11 percent of the market compared to just under 10 percent for the next largest provider. As a result, Workmans Comp Utah has rates that are 107 percent cheaper compared to California. This is not the only contributing factor to the discrepancy in prices, but it goes to show how drastic an impact a strong state fund can have. Now in California’s defense, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Utah is nearly 1.7 trillion dollars less than California (2). That is another huge factor driving up prices in California.

Another factor impacting rates on workers’ compensation insurance is how a state goes about determining rates on all the different industry classification codes. There are two ways states can go about providing this service. They can provide their own rating bureau or they can partner with an outside agency to do this in-depth work. Most states partner with the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) for determining rates on class codes. A few states have an organization that is part of the state government who determine rates.

Determining Rates on Class Codes

New York and Arkansas are two contrasting states that are a good example for how these different approaches can effect the rates on workers comp coverage. New York has its own bureau, The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB) while Arkansas outsources these duties to NCCI. As of 2014 Arkansas has rates on Workers Comp Coverage that are 90 percent cheaper than those rates in New York. Now again in defense of New York, it does have a GDP that is just under a trillion dollars more than Arkansas. That is a strong factor contributing to higher rates, but so is the fact that New York does not use NCCI to determine rates. Typically states who have their own bureau have higher rates across the board. In most cases, NCCI is better at doing this task than the states are themselves. The one exception to this is the state of Indiana. Indiana has their own state rating bureau, but enjoys some of the lowest rates on workers comp in the country.

In both of these examples the larger states have different ways of going about administering their workers compensation policies. These different ways contribute to escalating rates on workers’ compensation insurance. Now part of the reason for them doing things differently might be the vast size of the economies in these state’s. They may not be able to outsource this job for an economy in the trillions of dollars where as another state may be able to outsource more easily because their economy only amounts to 100 billion. Both of these examples do show how the strength of the state fund and how efficiently a state determines rates can drastically effect the amount employers pay for workers comp coverage.

These factors are two of many factors that can have a huge impact on rates employers pay for workers comp coverage. This is why it is immensely important to consult with an insurance industry professional when quoting a policy. It is also important to quote with agencies who have access to many different insurance carriers within your state. The more carriers your agent can get a quote from, the more likely your businesses is to get more comprehensive coverage and lower rates on premium.

How Competitive Workers Compensation Rates Develop

Workers compensation rates are developed by claims and premium paid within each industry, per state over a period of multiple years. In most sections of the U.S., each State sets a minimum and maximum rate for each industry code. Within the minimum and maximum rates established by the state competitive insurance companies are able to file their rates for each industry depending on how competitive they want to be. Depending on the characteristics of a particular business, insurance companies could be willing to discount or increase their rates. Each state also sets a minimum and maximum amount of credit or debit an insurance company can use when quoting. When researching rates, lower rates indicate an industry that is less likely to suffer a claim and higher rated industry codes indicate a higher risk of a claim. The lower hazard industries have more options therefore more competition than the higher hazard industries. More competition typically means those industry types are going to pay considerably less than a higher risk industry with only a few options willing to quote.

Identify the areas that cause the greatest concern for workplace injuries. Business owners in all industries can increase their chances of paying the lowest workers compensation rates by implementing proper policy and procedures to prevent claims. Which policy and procedures to implement will not be the same for all industries. A restaurant would have different exposures that could cause a claim than a remodeling contractor. When quoting your business, make sure you highlight the areas that your business has implemented that prevents claims. Brag about the areas that make your business different than other businesses in the same industry. In my opinion, most business owners and agents are focused on which insurance company has the lowest rate. Instead, the business owner and agent needs to tell the story of that business and the components of that business that make it attractive to insure. Just because an insurance company has one of the lowest rates for a particular industry doesn’t mean they are the most competitive option. Insurance companies that are willing to apply credits/discounts based on business practices to prevent claims will typically be the most competitive options. If your agent is not asking about your business practices, they are not properly selling to their underwriters to get the best possible pricing. Below is a short list of ways a business owner can help reduce their workers’ compensation costs. These are the things that insurance company underwriters want to know about in order to properly price their quote.

Business owner is active within the business. When a business owner is active and around employees, typically those employees follow the policies and procedures more carefully.
Proper training of how to handle situations that could cause workers comp claims. If you own a convenience store, how should employees handle a robbery?
Return to Work Program. History shows that the sooner a business owner can return the injured employee to work the less expensive the claim will be. Even if you have to create a light-duty position temporarily.
Establish a safety program and enforce discipline for not following proper procedures. This can positively impact your workers compensation rates.
Conduct safety meetings. Constantly reinforcing helps prevent injuries.
Employee Training for the job they are performing, equipment they are using.
Designate Key Employees to be responsible for holding employees to the standards of your business
Update your equipment when needed, make sure it has the proper guarding to prevent injuries.