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Five Ways That Workers Comp Is Affected In Bad Economy

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Five Ways A Bad Economy Affects Workers Comp

A Bad Economy affects Workers comp premiums in varied ways.  I have read a few articles on the effect that our current sour economy has had on insurance such as an upcoming hard market, lowering claim numbers, etc. I thought I would cover five ways that Workers Comp is being affected presently.

  1. Picture Of Couple Bad Economy With Man Explaining
    StockUnlimited

    Employers may be severely overpaying for their Workers Comp premiums upfront at the time of policy renewal. I have written a few prior posts (one here) on policy premiums. As an employer you can possibly be giving your insurance carrier a 0% interest loan for a year. If your payroll is decreasing are you basing your payroll numbers on prior years? That could be a costly error.

  2. Insurance carriers and state insurance departments have become more aggressive in classifying independent contractors as employees. This beckons the question, “Is the subcontractor independent or really an employee?” As in #1, I have written a number of posts on this subject. The most recent one for subcontractors is here. I realize that all states have their own set of independent contractor laws. The IRS has been deciding this conundrum for many years.
  3. Employers are searching more heavily than ever for alternatives to the traditional first dollar Workers Comp insurance policies. This blog contains many posts on alternative programs. Your company does not have to be huge to be eligible for other Workers Comp insurance programs. PEO’s, captives, large deductible, and others are becoming more popular now.
  4. Money Cash Bad Economy Picture
    123RF

    Claim numbers are down, but the cost per claim has increased to offset the claim number reductions.. Along with this fact is the small claim number “bumps” that have appeared in every state. These bumps may likely be due to laid-off workers filing claims for injuries they have been working with over the years and just put up with them or laid off workers have run out of unemployment benefits and are just trying to make ends meet.

  5. Insurance personnel such as premium auditors, claim adjusters, underwriters, and others are much more overloaded than in the past. Insurance companies have to cut back as all employers have over the last two years. I saw in one study where there was a 4.9% decrease in Workers Comp premiums when compared to last year. A cut in premiums of this magnitude will only snowball as the insurance carriers’ rate of investment return plunges to new lows. Is your company or organization not receiving the same level of service as in the past?

The quickest way to combat these effects is by becoming more involved with your Workers Comp insurance plan. That is and has always been the quickest way to reduce your insurance costs.

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James J Moore - Workers Comp Expert

Raleigh, NC, United States

About The Author...

James founded a Workers’ Compensation consulting firm, J&L Risk Management Consultants, Inc. in 1996. J&L’s mission is to reduce our clients’ Workers Compensation premiums by using time-tested techniques. J&L’s claims, premium, reserve and Experience Mod reviews have saved employers over $9.8 million in earned premiums over the last three years. J&L has saved numerous companies from bankruptcy proceedings as a result of insurance overpayments.

James has over 27 years of experience in insurance claims, audit, and underwriting, specializing in Workers’ Compensation. He has supervised, and managed the administration of Workers’ Compensation claims, and underwriting in over 45 states. His professional experience includes being the Director of Risk Management for the North Carolina School Boards Association. He created a very successful Workers’ Compensation Injury Rehabilitation Unit for school personnel.

James’s educational background, which centered on computer technology, culminated in earning a Masters of Business Administration (MBA); an Associate in Claims designation (AIC); and an Associate in Risk Management designation (ARM). He is a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and a licensed financial advisor. The NC Department of Insurance has certified him as an insurance instructor. He also possesses a Bachelors’ Degree in Actuarial Science.

LexisNexis has twice recognized his blog as one of the Top 25 Blogs on Workers’ Compensation. J&L has been listed in AM Best’s Preferred Providers Directory for Insurance Experts – Workers Compensation for over eight years. He recently won the prestigious Baucom Shine Lifetime Achievement Award for his volunteer contributions to the area of risk management and safety. James was recently named as an instructor for the prestigious Insurance Academy.

James is on the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the North Carolina Mid-State Safety Council. He has published two manuals on Workers’ Compensation and three different claims processing manuals. He has also written and has been quoted in numerous articles on reducing Workers’ Compensation costs for public and private employers. James publishes a weekly newsletter with 7,000 readers.

He currently possess press credentials and am invited to various national Workers Compensation conferences as a reporter.

James’s articles or interviews on Workers’ Compensation have appeared in the following publications or websites:

  • Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS)
  • Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Bloomberg Business News
  • WorkCompCentral.com
  • Claims Magazine
  • Risk & Insurance Magazine
  • Insurance Journal
  • Workers Compensation.com
  • LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites
  • Various trade publications

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