Pennsylvania
Keystone CompControl with East Coast Risk Management
Insured
Located in Western Pennsylvania, the chain of full-service automobile
dealerships employs more than 500 people divided into three work classes
– dealer, auto sales people and clerical. The company did more
than $250 million in business in 2005.
Situation
The frequency and severity of claims being incurred by the employer
were staggering. It had experienced more than 100 claims for each
of the previous three years. The costs of those claims averaged more
than $700,000 per year and the most recent year they topped $900,000.
These numbers had already driven up the employer’s Experience
Mod to 1.3 – more than twice the minimum level of 0.65–
and was about to push up the mod for the coming renewal year by another
10%.
Assessment
Certified WorkComp Advisors (CWCAs) from Keystone CompControl in Pennsylvania
reviewed the business prior to the employer’s latest renewal.
They found much disarray in its personnel plans and some aspects –
such as defined return-work or injury-reporting systems – were
non-existent. Furthermore and the employer relied upon the carrier
to provide on-the-job safety plans, which amounted to employing an
outside safety consultant that partially implemented OSHA regulations,
but not much more.
Solution
The CWCAs of Keystone CompControl partnered with East Coast Risk Management
put a business plan together that included, among other things, detailed
procedures for reporting injuries, specified to whom the employees
should go for initial medical evaluations and identified “light
duty” jobs. The plan also included a very comprehensive safety
program.
Result
Because the plan showed the promise of significantly decreased claim
frequency, the carrier agreed to work with the employer and decreased
the renewal offer for last year by $950,000. In the first year, the
number of claims dropped nearly 70% to only 38, causing the overall
cost of claims to plummet to $128,000. And in the first eight months
of the second year, 12 claims have been filed with no lost workdays
– a first for any eight-month period for this employer. The
employer’s Experience Mod for this year has also dropped by
25% and this year’s premium dropped by over $800,000. In all,
the total savings realized by the employer to date has topped $2 million. |
Insured: Located in Eastern Pennsylvania, the plastics
manufacturer has 78 full-time employees and reported revenues of $22
million in 2005. The company manufactures plastic bags for industrial,
commercial and residential use.
Situation: With an Experience Mod already
at 1.35, more than twice the 0.65 minimum level, the employers were
notified of another 25% increase in the mod, which would raise it
to 1.685 and drive up their premium by $78,459. At the root of the
higher-than-necessary mod was a four-year average for injury claims
of $213,321. The company witnessed an annual average of 18 injury
claims with roughly five each year resulting in lost time at work.
Assessment: After initial skepticism about
being able to improve their situation, the employers allowed a team
of Certified WorkComp Advisors (CWCAs) from KeystoneComp Control/Seltzer
Insurance in Orwigsburg, PA, to review their business. A thorough
review of the previous four years showed that the employers did not
have in place a set procedure for how employees were supposed to report
injuries, nor were their supervisors trained in how to handle subordinates
who were injured on the job.
Solution: The CWCAs of KeystoneComp Control
implemented a 14-point-plan that among other things detailed procedures
for reporting injuries, specified to whom the employees should go
for initial medical evaluations and identified “light duty”
jobs that injured employees could still perform even if they were
not able to handle the physical requirements of their regular positions.
Result: Within a year of instituting the
14-point program, total claims dropped to just 14, but even more impressive
was that none of them resulted in lost time from work. The effect
of this was to drive down the net claims to only $12,438 – more
than $200,000 less then the manufacturer had averaged over the previous
four years. After 20 days of negotiating on the employers’
behalf, the CWCA’s of Keystone CompControl convinced the insurance
company to bypass the normal one-year lag in the state’s experience
mod system and assign the employers’ new premium on the basis
of the progress made. As a result, rather than an increase of $78,459,
the manufacturer’s premium decreased by $52,114 –
a total overall savings of $135,073 for that year! |
