Workers’ Compensation Rate Calculation New Benchmark for Contractors’ Qualification To Bid

Joshua EtemadiBonds, Construction

A complicated calculation for determining workers compensation premiums has evolved into a do-or-die benchmark on whether contractors are qualified to bid on many jobs, and some say that’s not fair, especially for smaller contractors. It’s called the experience modification rate (EMR), and it’s based on previous workers’ comp claims versus payroll and other factors. The rate can lead to a reduction or increase in a company’s workers’ comp premiums. But over the years, the rate has come to mean much more in the construction industry, where the number has often become the final word on a construction company’s safety practices. Tell me more >>>

Workers’ Compensation Premium Increase Delayed

Denise GillinNews, Third Party Claim Administration

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) has yet to make a decision on a mid-year increase in workers’ compensation (WC) costs – despite the Nov. 1 effective date, proposed by the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau. The PCRB in August asked for a 6.06 percent increase in loss costs mid-year as a direct result of Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Protz v. WCAB (Derry Area School District). Throwing a wrench into the approval process is a recent objection and request for a hearing filed by the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (trial bar), which challenges the calculations used by the PCRB to come up with the proposed increase. By law, the PID has 180 days (until February) to consider the PCRB’s request for …