BX ONLINE NEWSLETTER WEEK OF July 22, 2008

Ohio BWC Board of Directors lowers group discount to 77%

The board of directors of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) voted on June 27 to reduce the maximum discount for group-rated employers from 85% to 77%, effective July 1, 2009.

Additional actions taken by the BWC Board that will impact Ohio employers include:

• Capping premium increases due to these changes at 20% each year for employers affected by this change;

• Capping premium increases due to an employer’s claim history at 100% each year for all employers, particularly those removed from a group; and,

• Development of new, performance-based premium discount plans such as deductibles that will encourage employers to manage costs and improve workplace safety efforts.

Cathy Blackford, Executive Director Builders Exchange of Central Ohio

These actions help soften the blow of increasing premium, however the Bureau’s decision to reduce the discount still means that most group-rated employers will be paying 20% higher premiums than they are today and as much as 70% more than they were paying on July 1, 2007.

“BX members need a heads-up now to plan for these added costs,” said Cathy Blackford, Exchange executive director.

“In the construction industry, every percentage point of premium can translate into thousands of dollars.”

In addition to the most recent changes noted above, the Bureau’s long-term plan calls for reducing the maximum premium discount even further – to 65% by 2010. According to BWC, reducing the maximum group-rating discount over the next two years will allow a 25% reduction in the overall Ohio base rates.

The Builders Exchange and its endorsed Workers’ Comp Group Plan manager, Compensation Consultants Inc. (CCI), are participating in a coalition of association sponsors and third-party administrators to communicate with BWC leadership on this issue.  In fact, the coalition played an instrumental role in securing a cap on the size of annual premium increases. 

The coalition has also commissioned an independent actuarial review of the BWC policy reforms and Ohio’s group-rating program. The BWC board and administrator have expressed a willingness to incorporate input from the actuary’s report, which will be completed in the next two months.

CCI will continue to monitor and report on ongoing changes in Ohio’s workers’ compensation system. For more information, contact Blackford at the BX.

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The Builders Exchange of Central Ohio
1175 Dublin Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43215
Ph: 614.486.9521   Fax: 614.486.7620   Email: info@bx.org

Updated 7/21/2008