Workers’ compensation insurance protects businesses if their employees become ill or injured while on the job.
Workers’ compensation continues to be a major concern for employers and while some industries have more claims than others, every business–no matter its focus–has certain risks and all have concerns about the associated costs. For you, the challenge may be how to continue helping clients when health care costs are going to spike and helping clients understand. Even though health care costs are rising, strategies to decrease your company’s risk and moderate premiums in workers’ compensation continue to evolve.
With costs rising, it’s important that businesses look ahead to 2017 and know if they will have plenty of opportunities to assist businesses and keep their workers’ compensation insurance affordable and in check.
Rising Premiums
There seems to be a high rise in the number of claims that will lead to higher premiums. Katherine Cary, a commercial broker for Capacity Group of New York, says that “For companies with more than 100 employees, especially labor-based employees, workers’ compensation is taking a huge toll on their bottom line.” Carey reports that she is seeing a high frequency of claim, workers taking more time off work, and higher dollar amounts for the claim being filed.
Big Pharma Adding to Costs
Big pharmaceutical companies have poor management and do not have the interest of the American people at heart, only their own personal gain. We saw this with the ridiculous spike in EpiPen cost and the liberal prescription of opioids. Poor and selfish management pharmaceutical companies can have an effect on everyone.
Building a Culture of Getting Back to Work
In order to decrease premium cost, companies have to build a culture in which workers want to get back to work as soon as possible in order to decrease the high cost of workers’ compensation claims. A simple phone call to check in on an employee or a get-well card by a supervisor can make all the difference.
Forming a Safe Workplace
The best way to avoid workers’ compensation claims is to make a workplace as safe as possible. Safety first, as a philosophy, may be cheesy, but it can make a large impact on many companies. Rewards for being safe and punishment for not following protocol can reinforce how serious businesses are.
At PMC Insurance Group, we’re experts on small business insurance in MA and can help you put the proper policies in place. To learn more about getting competitive coverage for your small business clients, contact us today.
