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Published on Dec 13
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Did you know that your third-party administrator (TPA) does a lot more than just help reduce your workers’ compensation stress? Your TPA can also provide you with access to the most beneficial cost containment strategies available to Ohio businesses. By facilitating access to valuable cost-saving programs, your partnership with a TPA can essentially pay for itself. Here are three cost containment strategies you should discuss with your TPA today.
Group Experience Rating
Group experience rating programs group employers who operate similar businesses together to achieve lower premium rates than they could through individual ratings. Rather than looking at each company separately, the BWC treats the group of businesses as one large company. The group experience rating plan is an annual plan and ratings are recalculated each policy year.
Employers pay their premium based upon the reduced rate achieved through participation in group experience rating. The BWC determines the group’s rate by calculating the experience modifier using the combined experience of all members of the group.
Savings opportunities vary depending on claim experience, industry, and payroll history. Each of the group’s participants must be a member of a sponsoring organization, such as a local chamber of commerce. Enrollment is for one rate year only and can be renewed annually, depending on eligibility. Check out Focus on Savings: Group Experience Ratings to learn more about this valuable cost-saving opportunity.
Go-Green Rebate
Ready to make your business a little bit greener while also saving some green? Then the Go-Green Rebate Program may be just the cost-saving opportunity you’ve been looking for.
Participation in the program requires employers to submit their payroll true-up report online. Participants in the rebate program can receive a 1-percent premium rebate on their annual BWC premium, up to $2,000 each policy year. During the January 1 reporting period, public employers must enroll in electronic notifications and opt to receive policy notices electronically prior to completing their true-up. Private employers must enroll to participate in the program during the July 1 true-up reporting period.
Employers may sign-up for electronic notifications at any time by signing into their My Policy page on the BWC website. Enrollment in the Go-Green Rebate Program is automatic when employers complete their installment payments and true-up online after opting to receive electronic delivery of future policy invoices.
Grow Ohio Incentive Program
Are you a recent start-up in Ohio? This program offers new employers the opportunity to secure cost-savings on their workers’ compensation premiums when they start their business. They can either join a group rating program or take an automatic 25% discount on their premium. Employers choosing to join a group rating program must be a member of a sponsoring organization.
To be eligible for and to maintain eligibility for Grow Ohio discounts, employers must comply with BWC safety requirements. Before the end of the first full reporting period after acceptance into the program, participating businesses must complete at least one of the following three requirements:
• Complete a safety survey and acknowledge you’ve read an introduction to the BWC Division of Safety and Hygiene’s offerings;
• Complete at least two hours of safety training offered by the BWC Division of Safety and Hygiene; or
• Complete the Safety Management Self-Assessment.
Grow Ohio is designed to help new businesses grow and thrive through cost-savings. Making it easier for new companies to create jobs and to succeed during the critical first years of business is just one way that the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation works to help both employers and employees in the state of Ohio. Read our guide to the Grow Ohio Program to learn more.
Advocating for you
The Ohio BWC may not require your company to use one, but the TPA cost-saving opportunities available to you and the expertise of these groups can lead to reduced risk and lower premiums for your company. Partnering with a TPA is an investment in your business’s future that can mean a safer workplace for your employees and less time spent on claims administration for you. While the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation looks out for the interests of your injured employees, your TPA will help you save money and provide assistance with claims.
Learn more about Workers’ Compensation today by contacting a Sheakley professional. Stay up-to-date on all things Sheakley by subscribing to our blog and following us on social media. What BWC cost-savings opportunities has your company used in the past? Join the discussion by commenting below.
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