10 Things to Check on Your 2019 WCB Premium Rate Statement
If you haven’t seen it already, your 2019 Premium Rate Statement should be available shortly. This statement not only advises you of the WCB Premium rate you have been assessed at for the coming year but provides you with the information used to calculate your rate. According to current information, the average WCB 2019 premium rate in has gone down in Saskatchewan, increased in Alberta and remained the same in Manitoba and British Columbia, as compared to the 2018 levels. The rate-setting process is complex and even the smallest change in the data used can have a significant impact on the number of premiums you pay. It is important to consider the following questions while reviewing your statement: Is your company name/address correct? Have your operations or business changed? Are you classified in the most appropriate Industry? Has your industry code changed? Are you being assessed a surcharge? For Alberta […]
What is Partnership in Injury Reduction (PIR) and How to Get Involved.
It’s Not Too Late! Register in WCB Alberta’s Partnerships in Injury Reduction (PIR) by December 31, 2017 and still be eligible for PIR rebated for 2017 and 2018 The annual Experience Rating statements will soon be released, so now is a good time for employers to look at ways to maintain or improve their WCB premium rate. In Alberta, your claims experience from the past three years is used to establish your premium rate for the coming year – in other words, your WCB claims from 2014, 2015 and 2016 will be used to determine your premium rate for 2018.
Why Performance Matters
When it comes to WCB premiums, it is an employer’s performance – in terms of the number and severity of work-related accidents, incidents and illnesses – that has a significant impact on premium rates. Simply put, employers who have a large number of WCB claims and high WCB claims costs will pay more in WCB premiums than employers with few or no WCB claims and little or no WCB claim costs. Although the WCB provides discounts and rewards for employers with good accident records, the primary incentive to get employers with poor performance histories to make immediate improvements to their disability management and prevention programs is through monetary repercussions. The Poor Performance Surcharge (PPS), which is levied on large employers (i.e. employers who pay more than $15,000 per year in industry rated premiums in a 3 year period) who have consistently poor accident records over consecutive years. It is, perhaps, […]
WCB Accident Fund Surplus: Have Your Say
As part of the government directed WCB Review currently underway in Alberta, the Review Panel is taking a closer look at WCB-Alberta’s Accident Fund and how it is managed. This has been a topic of discussion in recent workshops and the Panel is very keen on getting as much input as possible from stakeholders. WCB Accident Fund The Accident Fund is established from Employer Premiums. The WCB is funded through premiums assessed to employers. There are no tax dollars or employee payroll deductions involved in the workers’ compensation system. Each year the WCB establishes the premiums that employers will pay. These rates are set so that the total premiums collected in the current year will pay for all estimated present and future costs of claims that occur during that year. Based on the overall amount of premiums that need to be collected, the WCB determines premium rates for each industry […]
Worker’s Compensation Board Under Review
In March 2016, the Alberta Government announced that it would be conducting a review of the province’s workers’ compensation system. Although the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) is not a government agency per se, the WCB was created by the Alberta Government to administer the Workers’ Compensation Act and as such, is responsible to ensure the WCB is operating as fairly, efficiently and effectively as possible. To that end, an independent three-member panel is conducting a formal review of the entire workers’ compensation system, including the WCB, the Appeals Commission and the Medical Panel Office. As part of the review, the Panel is looking at how things are done, how effective the process is, what is working, what is not, what needs to be improved and what needs to be changed. From June 6, 2016 to July 15, 2016, the Review Panel asked for input from Albertans to share their opinions […]