Ohio Private Employer Base Rates Fall

The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation has reached another milestone in setting fair, equitable and competitive workers' compensation rates for Ohio employers, according to the BWC e-news.

The BWC Board of Directors approved an overall premium rate decrease of 3.9 percent for private employers effective in July. With this reduction, Ohio's private employer base rates are at their lowest level in the last two decades, and 35 percent lower than they were in policy year 2007.

In addition, base rates are now lower for more than half of Ohio's 531 manual classifications, an overall 8.4 percent decrease in base rates since 2009. Because private employers pay for their workers' compensation coverage six months in arrears, they will see this latest decrease in their January 2011 statements.

"By lowering Ohio's base rates to levels not seen in at least 20 years, the majority of Ohio's private employers are now seeing significant savings in their workers' compensation costs," said BWC Administrator Marsha Ryan. "These funds can now be invested into their business operations to support future job growth and economic development in our state."

Led by its board of directors, the BWC is in the third year of a comprehensive rate-reform effort to make certain the amount paid by each employer matches the risk that employer brings to the system.

In other news...the BWC Board of Directors has improved rate making accuracy and consistency for public employer taxing districts (PECs).

The board modified two tables that impact experience-based rate adjustments for PECs. These changes take effect Jan. 1, 2011.

The credibility table will have maximum value of 65 percent and will have lower eligibility requirments. This will allow smaller employers to earn adjustments based on their own claim experience. For those in group rating, the revised break-even factor table allows them to achieve a maximum discount of 59 percent.

The action aligns the PEC credibility table with that of private employers, which the BWC Board of Directors established earlier this year and which became effective on July 1. The BWC applies the break-even factor in conjunction with the credibility table to set rates for all PECs that reflect their individual risk level.

Attendance - 07/23/10

Lake County Safety Council Membership

We hope your organization will renew its membership with the Lake County Safety Council for Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) when you receive your membership renewal invoice. The deadline date for renewing is August 30. Your membership helps the LCSC improve the health, safety and environmental awareness of our community and its partnering organizations within Lake County and surrounding areas. The LCSC will continue to strive to meet your needs that were identified in our most recent programming survey.

Over the past year, we have significantly improved the LCSC website and purchased a new tabletop display to promote our organization. We were able to accomplish this with your support of technical meetings, monthly luncheon meetings and sponsorship opportunities.

We hope you use monthly meetings to network with peers and to talk to steering committee members about safety, health and the environment. The committee members have broad ranges of backgrounds and experiences and welcome questions at any time.

Committee member biographies and contact information is available on the website, www.councilnews.org. Maximize your membership today by connecting with peers and tapping steering committee member expertise.

Semi-Annual Reports Due Soon

The BWC fiscal year, FY10, concluded July 31, 2010. All reporting members of the Lake County Safety Council (LCSC) are required to complete a semi-annual report. This report is used by the Ohio BWC for a variety of purposes and is a critical requirement for the success of the safety council.

Semi-annual reports were sent to you via e-mail.

If you did not receive this report, contact Mark Wainwright as the safety council directly at 440-255-1616.

Your assistance with entering your company’s data accurately and in a timely manner permits the LCSC to submit the data to the Ohio BWC by the deadline date. Please consider doing this as soon as you can.

The LCSC will be emailing and calling companies as the deadline nears. Help us limit unnecessary emails and phone calls to companies by completing your semi-annual report as soon as posible.

Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation and your continued support of the Lake County Safety Council.