Workers' Compensation and Safety Survey 2007
Do you have the right strategies in place to control your workers’ compensation costs? To help you establish a benchmark, this survey takes a comprehensive look at workers’ compensation issues including premiums and deductibles, safety committees and their role, general safety policies and market concerns.
The survey was conducted from January through March 2007 and was available to individuals through the MyWave® web site. This survey was anonymous, so responses have not been validated for statistical significance or margin of error.Approximately 366 respondents completed the survey.
Demographic Information
In what state is your organization based (the most employees)?
New England...... 9%
Mid-Atlantic...... 8%
West North Central...... 20%
East North Central...... 12%
South Atlantic...... 19%
East South Central...... 7%
West South Central...... 4%
Mountain...... 9%
Pacific...... 12%
In which industry/sector does your organization operate?
How many employees does your organization employ?
What is your organization’s annual revenue?
What is your position?
Workers’ Compensation & Payroll
While a variety of industry sectors are represented in this survey, the top three include Manufacturing (25%), Construction (15%) and Retail & Wholesale (10%). Changes in premium fluctuations indicate some softening in the market as 29% of respondents noted a 1–19% decrease in premiums, coupled with 68% percent noting a 1–19% increase in payroll exposures in the same period. A majority of the respondents indicated that they do not carry a workers’ compensation deductible (76%), with two-thirds indicating a deductible of less than $2,500.
How many WC carriers have you worked with in the past five plan years?
What is the current year’s estimated workers’ compensation premium?
What was the change in workers’ compensation premium from last year?
Workers’ compensation policy
Workers’ compensation deductible
What is the current year’s
estimated payroll?
What was the change in payroll from last year?
Safety Committees & Organizational
Structure
To support their risk management programs, 28% of respondents dedicate safety resources via a Risk Manager, while 60% support a full-time Safety Director. Instilling a safety culture includes a solid infrastructure for support, which includes a formal safety committee. Of the 60% with safety committees, 60% meet monthly, while 22% opt to meet “as needed.” Of those surveyed, 86% feel that all areas of their company are represented equally. And a comparable number, 83%, are empowered to engage safety policies and corrective action, with about half able to deliver consequences of policy non-compliance.
Safety Committees
How often does the Safety Committee meet?
Organizational structure
Workers’ Compensation Claims
The following workers’ compensation data reports respondents’ average number of workers’ compensation claims.
Average length of disability per each WC claim
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Modified Duty Policy
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Average length a claimant is on
Modified Duty
Safety Manual
Only 64 percent of respondents have a written safety manual. The good news is that 85% of those with safety manuals review them at least every two years.
Controlling WC Costs
How do respondents control workers’ compensation costs? The following chart indicates a Safety-minded Culture, Return to Work and Light-Duty Return were ranked in the top three “effective to highly effective” control methods by survey respondents.
Insurance Concerns in 2007
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In 2007, survey respondents are “somewhat to very concerned” about cost containment and increasing exposure issues (72% and 42% respectively), while respondents ranked carrier stability and workplace violence as something they are “not concerned’” about (58% and 47% respectively).
Industry trends continue to point to a decline in accident frequency, but the average incurred cost per claim continues to be on the rise due to increasing medical, wage and litigation costs. Telamon Insurance & Financial Network takes an aggressive approach in assisting our clients tocontrol their workers’ compensationcosts. Please contact usat 617-964-5340to learn more about our client-focused risk management strategies.
© 2007 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein, including its attachments, contains proprietary and confidential information. Any distribution of these materials to third parties is strictly prohibited. MyWave® is a registered trademark of Zywave, Inc.
Workers' Compensation and Safety Survey 2007 • Page 1 of 6