Dealing with Workers Comp Insurance Companies
If you’ve ever managed employees then you’ve dealtwith workers’ compensation insurers. Having to deal with the constant threat of increased rates will make any employer paranoid.
Naturally you already understand that there are things that can occur in your business that can cause the workers’ compensation insurance companies to increase your premiums. What you probably don’t realize are that there are also numerous errors made by the insurance carrier that have a detrimental effect on your business. The following is a listing of common errors by business owners and workers comp insurance companies.
The following are some common errors made by companies that cause work comp premiums to rise:
* No safety program for preventing injuries
* No return to work plan
* Not reporting injuries to the insurance company in a timely manner
* No direct communication with the doctor of the injured worker
These are just a few of the common errors that companies make when dealing with workmans compensation. There are many things available that will help employers to lower rates with minimal upfront costs. If not watched the items listed above can cost thousands of dollars in higher rates.
The following list below are common errors made by workers comp insurance companies:
* Employees assigned the wrong job classification code
* Company’s experience modification was calculated wrong
* Eligible credits and exemptions not applied
* Payroll calculation errors
Make no mistake, these errors are just a small sampling of the many errors that arise. A common mistake is when the workers comp insurance company is calculating the overtime rate at the amount listed on the payroll as opposed to a straight hourly rate.
Another problem is employees being put into the wrong job classification category. This mistake can cost a business thousands of dollars. An example is a clerical employee being mis-classified under the construction code because he is required to go to the job site on an infrequent basis.
If you’ve ever tried to deal with carriers you probably realize how hard it can be to get your company’s premiums lowered. Even though you may be correct, you may not have the knowledge you need to show them the mistake so that the error can be fixed. Then there’s the mistakes that you don’t know about that are costing your business thousands of dollars. Errors that add up to 10s of thousands of dollars each year.
Believe it or not, I’ve witnessed it first hand. I just a short while ago saw a policy that had a whole host of mistakes that the business ended up being refunded $96K. Basically, the business received back $16,000 a year foreach of the six years past. I do not know about you but I would love an extra $96K.
You may think I’m making this up but you would be wrong. It’s not even the largest refund that I’ve seen. On average we find about $37,000 dollars in refunds. Obviously it all depends on what you are paying in premium rates but on average we usually recover about ten percent of the annual premium rate.
Don’t take my word for it, try it out yourself and see.
To read more go to: Workman’s Compensation Insurance Companies
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