(Part 2 of 4)
With L&I’s recent increase to industrial insurance base rates, now is a good time to examine whether or not your L&I premiums are as low as they could be. Over four newsletter installments, we’ll review commonly overlooked strategies for lowering your rates. Last month we provided information on the Medical-Only Discount applied to claims (Part 1 of 4), this month we will examine the Claim-Free Discount that can be applied to your account.
The Claim-Free Discount
The Claim-Free Discount doesn’t actually mean you can’t have claims, but rather that any claims you do have are for medical benefits only. If you can keep indemnity benefits like wage replacement (time loss, loss of earning power) and permanent partial disability (PPD) off your claims for three consecutive years, L&I will provide you an additional discount of 10%-40% off your experience factor. The discount will remain in place until you have an indemnity claim.
Earning the Claim-Free Discount
You can control whether or not time loss or loss of earning power is paid under your claims with two simple strategies:
- Return all injured employees to work within their work restrictions as soon as possible. Identifying possible light-duty work ahead of time and utilizing our Return to Work Form is the easiest way to return injured employees and keep your Medical-Only Discount. Download the Basics of Return to Work.pdf
- If your employee must miss work, bridge the time between their injury and their return by continuing their regular wages, known as Kept on Salary (KOS). Download the Basics of Kept on Salary.pdf
With increasing labor costs, supply chain shortages and rising inflation, every dollar saved counts. For more information on cost-saving strategies please contact us.