Tag: National COuncil on Compensation Insurance (NCCI)

How can I Lower my Workers Compensation Insurance Premium?

Workers compensation insurance premium is often a large portion of overall property and casualty insurance costs. Many business owners look at the workers compensation premium and wonder how they can reduce the overall cost of the insurance policy. The following ideas can help reduce your costs and hopefully help make your business more profitable.

Make sure you are classified properly

Business will have a classification code determined by National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) or some cases the State will have a slightly different number that is used by insurance carriers to rate workers compensation insurance premium. For Example one way to reduce your cost is to take advantage of standard exceptions to the code classification. Employees who perform clerical duties and are physically separate from manufacturing operations may be classified as clerical employees with a much lower rate. Make sure the classification for your employees is appropriate.

Monitor your loss control and safety programs

Loss Control and Safety is critical for preventing losses in the workplace. Set the expectation in your safety manual. Follow up by reminding employees of safe practices including lifting, distracted driving, and the hazard of wet floors. Scheduled safety meetings and incentive programs should be used to promote workplace safety. Decreasing losses will reduce your overall insurance costs.

Develop an effective return-to-work program 

Develop a return to work program. Having injured employees staying at home collecting workers compensation will raise your costs on premiums and also on additional labor you will need to hire while that person is out. A way to get your injured employee to return to work as soon as possible is to create a temporary position for that person. You can give them duties that are not taxing on the body so that they will still be able to recover while they are working.

Speak with your agent about adding a deductible

Evaluate the benefit of adding a deductible to your Workers’ Compensation program. A deductible provides an immediate credit to the workers compensation insurance premium calculation. Additionally, losses under the deductible will not be reported to NCCI and will cause a reduction in your experience modification. Be sure to analyze the cost of funding your deductible.

Notice if there is a pattern to workers compensation claims. Determine if certain areas of your business have fewer claims than others, and determine why the risk is lesser or greater in different areas. Reduce risk by duplicating safe behaviors and programs and eliminating risky behaviors.. Eliminate workplace hazards that have caused an employee to get sick or injured so it doesn’t happen again. Some carriers will even provide help in this area. 

Report claims ASAP

Report Claims as soon as possible! Provide medical attention quickly if an employee is injured, as prompt medical attention may reduce complications that may arise from delayed care. Complications can make workers’ compensation claims more expensive, which may increase insurance premiums.Statistics prove that losses reported 24 hours or more after the loss are more expensive than those reported promptly. Managing your Workers’ Compensation program carefully can save money and improve your bottom line.

These are just a few ideas that can help you in either keeping your premiums low or driving them down. Every business wants to be more profitable and it can be as simple as investing in work place safety that could get you started in the right direction.

 

Talk with your agent.

In today’s business world, time is of the essence for all business owners. When purchasing something for their business, many business owners want it done fast and cheap. They may have an inclination to rush through the buying purchase or to only focus on price. In many instances this may be wise, because their time is more valuable running the business than trying to save on buying whatever is needed for that business. When it comes to purchasing commercial insurance this is not a good idea. In this instances it is crucial for business owners to take the necessary time to have a long honest conversation with their insurance agent.

In conversations I have with agents in the insurance field, they all say rushing through the buying process is a mistake far too many business owners make. This is where a little time on the front end may cost the business owner some time away from their business, but on the back side it can save their business hundreds if not thousands of dollars when a claim does occur. During these conversations the agents are typically trying to get as much information as possible about the daily operations of your business. They understand business owners may be shopping around to more than one agency and that their time is valuable, but rushing through this process can cause your business to be under-insured or to pay too much in premium.

These problems frequently come about because business owners do not inform their agent what exactly the business does and what the business does not do as a part of their daily operations. Insurance companies are in the business of analyzing risk. It is in their best interests to assume more risk rather than less. They can only assume the risks of your business based on the information you provide them with. If you do not provide them with the enough information they frequently will assume more risk, which costs more in premium.

In most industries there are numerous industry classification codes. In most states these classification codes are determined by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI).  These classification codes separate businesses by the type of work they do or do not partake in. Take landscaping as a prime example. There are at least a half a dozen class codes for lawn care and landscaping based upon the daily operations of your business. The two most common NCCI classification codes for the landscaping industry are 9102 and 0042. 9102 is designated for lawn care or maintenance of existing lawns, where 0042 is designed for businesses that install lawns and beds. The second class code is more dangerous and has a higher premium. If you rush your agent through the quoting process, they may place you in the wrong classification code. This can cause your business to end up paying far more in premium than is necessary. These mistakes frequently get fixed during the end of term audit, but even when they do your business has still paid more in premium than was necessary. That means there is cash-flow your business could use tied up in unnecessary insurance premium.

On top of tying up cash in premium, another problem exists that a good insurance agent can help your business with. The problem they can help your business with is to understand what exactly is and is not covered under your different insurance policies. This can help you fill in coverage where gaps might exist. This is where an agent can help you determine if you need a coverage like Business Loss of Income Coverage or Data Breach Insurance. 

Business loss of income coverage is a policy that is a type of commercial property insurance coverage that kicks in when a business suffers additional loss of income suffered when damage to its premises causes a slowdown or suspension of its operations.  The damage has to be the result of a covered loss. Take for instance if your building experiences a fire. Your commercial property insurance will cover to repair the damaged building, but it will not cover your business for lost revenue while you have to be closed for repairs. This is where business loss of insurance coverage kicks in. Many businesses who fail to secure this coverage do not survive when an occurrence happens.

Data breach is another coverage that is becoming more and more necessary. Many business owners feel they are too small or do not deal with computers or customer information enough to need this coverage. Take a commercial cleaning company for example. They have 5-15 employees and clean 5 office buildings and one retail store at night while the businesses are closed. Their employees only use a cell phone and never interact with a computer. Their business owner thinks they would never need something as advanced as data breach coverage. But what if you clean the offices of a bank and an employee of the bank leaves  a post-it note on their desk with the username and password for the internal system. If one of your employees finds this they could get into the system and access the financial records of the banks customers. That is a need for data breach coverage. Two of the largest data breaches in history, Target and Home Depot, were started by hackers first accessing a small business who was a partner of the larger business that got hacked. You do not have to be a big company nor do you have to store lots of personal information in order to be a target for criminals.

All of these and other problems can easily be prevented by taking the time in the first place to speak long and honestly with your independent insurance agent. They can help you understand what risks your business because not only do they interact with business all the time when they are purchasing insurance, but they also frequently interact with business owners when the unfortunate accident occurs. From that experience they can help you prepare for when dooms day comes for your business. If you take this time to properly protect your business it can be the difference between closing your doors for a short time and closing your doors forever.

Why does my class code matter?

Workers Compensation Insurance is required by law in 48 out of 50 states. It is offered based on a classification code system developed by the National Council for Compensation Insurance. There are more than 700 industry specific classification codes. Some industries have just one, some have many. For this reason, it is very important for business owners to take a few extra moments and speak with their insurance agent when buying or renewing their commercial insurance policy. It is crucial for a business owner to talk to their agent about the daily operations of their business. The key to getting the best policy on the best insurance package is to speak open and honestly with your insurance agent. 

Remember that your insurance agent is on your side. They are there to help you get the fullest coverage at the best price possible. Your agent can only do this if you give them all the information possible to negotiate on your behalf with the insurance carriers. This is where having an agency that has the ability to quote your policy with many carriers is important. Some agencies only carry policies with a few select carriers. If your business is in a difficult to quote classification code than this can make it difficult to get a better price or get any coverage altogether. So having a relationship with an agency that can quote from a variety of carriers is important. 

Next it is also important to ensure your agent and your carrier are aware of all the operations your business does and does not partake in. This can cause you to overpay or underpay on premium. Regardless of the amount of risk your business takes, it is very important to be classified correctly in the proper NCCI classification code. There is an audit of your business done at the end of every term. Usually if your business is coded incorrectly it gets caught during the audit. If you are actually supposed to be in a riskier code than you will end up owing more in premium. If you should be in a less risky code it can result in a refund, but you have been paying more in premium throughout the year. Typically, that is cash flow you could be using for other more urgent business needs. 

A few industries that give us some perfect examples of industries that have classification codes that could be incorrectly coded are landscaping and commercial vs. residential cleaning companies. For example, landscaping  has two class codes 9102 and 0042. 9102 is for businesses that only maintain existing lawns. 0042 is for businesses that install lawns, plants and other beds. 0042 is more dangerous. Because it is a riskier classification code the premium for these types of businesses is higher.

commercial and residential cleaning companies include the classification codes 9102 and 0042.

Another example of an industry that has multiple classification codes is the cleaning industry. Commercial cleaning is classification code 9014 and is the less risky class code. Residential cleaning service companies are class code 0917 and they cost more. The reason for a larger risk in the residential industry is because of the fact the employees are driving to one or more off site locations. Commercial cleaning companies typically have employees come to one location, like a mall, and clean one or more business at that one location. For residential cleaning companies, they are liable for any injuries that occur while the employee is driving to and from the different locations. These types of injuries may not be frequent, but when they do happen they tend to be much more expensive than a simple slip and fall while cleaning a building.

So the most important things any business owner can do to ensure they are classified correctly is to speak open and honestly with their agent about the what their business does and does not partake in. Again, this can prevent both over and under paying on premium. Regardless of whether you are in a a fairly risky class code like landscaping or you have a bunch of employees who sit around an office all year, it is imperative to have your business classified correctly. This can prevent your business from over paying throughout the year or from having a surprise when you are audited at the end of your term.

What do I need for a Work Comp and GL Quote?

Items needed to get a quote on Workers’ Comp and General Liability Insurance

Many times while talking to a prospect and gathering information I get the question “why do you need that, I just need a quote”.  Agents can usually give you a business owner a phone indication depending on the state you are calling in reference to, but that is only an indication and not a formal quote. Any agent can easily go into detail about why they need an address and Employer Identification Number (EIN). Sometimes the business owner on the other end of the phone does not want to give out the information.  At that point an agent has to say, unfortunately I cannot get you a quote unless I have your EIN and other needed information. This is a good piece of information to have if you are looking for a quote on workers’ compensation or general liability insurance for the first time. Below are all the basic questions any agent will ask while on a phone quote. These are also the questions you will get frequently via email when an agent needs more information on a submission sent in to me.

 

  1. It is very important that we have the correct name and spelling of the company. The way the company is formed is also crucial for Officer & Partner Exclusion Regulations per state.
  2. Phone numbers and email addresses are very important for the agent working on your quote and the future insurance carrier. Many carriers require agents to enter an email address upon quoting and or binding an account.  This is typically for billing and information delivery.
  3. Mailing and physical addresses: Many times this is a PO Box for a mailing address and that is acceptable.  However, a physical address is needed for the application and auditing purposes. In some cases there are multiple states and different mailing addresses. Your agent will need to know where to mail important policy information. Which address it needs to go to needs to be specified.
  4. Years in business: If you have been in business 5 years but are just now needing work comp or liability insurance our insurance carriers are going to want to know why. If you are a new venture and hiring employees for the first time, agents have different options for you than a business that has been in operation with employees and no workers comp coverage. All of this needs to be known to get an accurate quote.
  5. Federal or Employer Identification Number:  This number is very important for many reasons. This number acts as the Social Security Number for your business. This number also acts as a way for each agency or agent to identify they are working on your account specifically. For instance if you call four different agents and they all have the same insurance carrier appointments then it’s first come first serve. Meaning the agent that enters in your information first will have the ability to present the quote. The other agents will be “Blocked” from the market. This EIN will also follow you with the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). This will show what class codes you have used in the past as well as any past audits out for your company. On a side note please give any and all information to your agent. If an agent asks if you have ever had a Work Comp policy and you say no never, the carrier will have record that you have had a policy before. This makes for a very uncomfortable conversation for all involved.
  6. Officer and owner information: I cannot convey in words how important or vital this piece of information is. Depending on the state and how your company is formed determines what officers/ partners & percentage owned will allow some exclusions. I have seen this go many different ways and usually the head ache could have been detoured with correct owner information.
  7. What are the estimated annual wages for each department (office, field, sales): Workers’ Compensation Rates are based solely on Payroll. Your payroll times the rate of the class of business per 100 in payroll. We as agents understand that if you are just starting out this can be a hard number to decide on. Take it with small numbers first for instance how much money per hour?, how many hours a week?, and how many weeks will the employee be working for you? This number will give you a real number that you can give the agent to quote with.
  8. Detailed description of operations: Agents need to understand what your business is doing on a day-to-day basis. Telling your insurance agent I have a construction business does not give us a lot to go on. What kind of construction? Commercial or residential, new build or existing? Are you an artisan contractor? Or maybe you own a machine shop. What are you machining? All of the questions we are asking are so we can get you the most accurate quote.
  9. If you have a Workers Comp policy in place, agents are going to need a copy of your Loss Runs or Claims history along with an Experience Modification Number (if you qualify for one). You can obtain both of these documents from your current carrier and you do not have to call your agent if you do not want to.  Along with this information if needed a supplemental application will be sent to you to be filled out, signed and returned.

 

Always remember insurance agents are here to help you get the coverage you need. If at any point, do not be afraid to ask questions. Many times this is the first time making a call to inquire about work comp insurance and there is a lot to know before actually purchasing a work comp policy.