10 Ways to Control Your Workers Comp Mod

For many employers, workers’ compensation insurance is all about one number—the premium quoted. Shepherd Insurance knows employers want to pay the lowest amount possible on this mandatory coverage. While some brokers try to compete on a low bid, those who do miss the chance to educate employers on how their mod affects their premium, and how lowering their mod through targeted improvements in safety, hiring, return to work and other areas will ultimately improve both their direct and indirect workers’ compensation costs. Your bottom line is important to us and so is showing you how to control it with your mod. Your experience modification factor, or mod, is an important component used in calculating your workers’ compensation premium.

If you can control your mod, you can lower your price — so we’ve gathered top ten ways to help you impact your bottom line:

1. Investigate accidents immediately and thoroughly; take corrective action to eliminate hazards, and be aware of fraud.
2. 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.
3. Take an aggressive approach to providing light duty to all injured employees upon their release from treatment. Supervise light duty employees to ensure their conformance with restrictions.
4. In serious cases that involve lost time, communicate with the claims adjuster to demonstrate your interest in returning the injured employee back to gainful employment.
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.
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 in experience, and take corrective action on the worst problems first.
10. Hire Shepherd Insurance to ensure success.

For more information:

Contact Michael Sweitzer in Carmel, or any of our commercial insurance experts in one of our office locations nearest you.

SOURCE: Zywave, Inc.