5th Consecutive year of Decreasing Pure Premium Rates for Kansas Workers Compensation
Kansas Workers Compensation Insurance Rates in 2019 will be declining by 6.4 percent in the voluntary market and declining by 10.8 percent for assigned risk workers comp rates. This marks the 5th consecutive year business owners in the state of Kansas have enjoyed decreasing rates for workers comp premium. From 2015-2019 the cumulative rates will have dropped almost 45 percent in the voluntary base rate and nearly 50 percent in the assigned risk rate. These decreases will benefit approximately 70,000 Kansas businesses.
Why are Kansas Workers Compensation Rates Declining in 2019?
There are a number of reasons for a decrease in Kansas Workers Compensation rates for 2019. According to Trey Gillespie, vice president of workers compensation with the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. ‘Most states have experienced an ongoing decline in claims frequency while indemnity, severity and medical severity have been relatively stable’. According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) 67 percent of workers’ compensation benefit distribution goes to pay medical claims, and 33 percent goes to indemnity claims. In layman’s terms, what all of this means is that businesses report fewer claims to their insurance carriers and the claims that they do report are less severe. The result of this trend is that insurance carriers do not have to pay out as much to service the policies. Because of these favorable trends the carriers are able to pass on some of these savings to the business community throughout the state.
What can Business Owners do for Ultimate Savings?
Use an Independent Agent
Partnering with an independent agent is always a great way to ensure maximum savings on the most comprehensive coverage available. An independent agent is a good partner because they can shop your policy around to multiple carriers in an attempt to get better coverage at lower rates by forcing the carriers to compete for your coverage. An independent agent will allow you to focus on running your business while your agent shops around your insurance policy.
Classify Properly
In order to maximize savings when it comes to all forms of commercial insurance, it is important to first make sure all employees are classified properly. Many businesses have employees who partake in drastically different areas of the business. Some of those businesses have employees who work in office or clerical work, other employees who are salesman who spend a lot of time out at third party locations, and still other employees who work doing physical labor. All of these employees need to be placed in the proper classification code and their payroll needs to be strictly measured.
Control Your Experience Modification Rating
The experience modification rating of a business is crucial to limiting what you pay for workers compensation. The first thing an underwriter looks at when determining if to offer your business coverage and what to charge you for that coverage, is the classification code of your business and the experience modification rating of that is business.
Invest in Safety Protocols
Safety is the name of the game in any business. It is what is best for your employees as well as your customers. It is also important when it comes time to purchase commercial insurance. a safer business will have less claims and the claims it does have will be less severe. A small investment in a safety program can pay huge dividends when looking for the lowest Florida Workers Comp Rates.
Add a Return to Work Program to your Safety Policy
A Return to Work Program can significantly impact your experience modification rating in a positive way. When an employee is hurt and not able to work they are much more likely to develop new habits outside of their daily work routine. The longer they stay off the job, the more likely the injured employee is to become long term unemployed. This can have a drastic impact on the experience modification rating of the business. Businesses that are able to get an employee back on the job, even in a limited capacity, are more likely to have those employees return to permanent work.