What Should You Be Checking on Your WCB Premium Rate Statement?
If you haven’t seen it already, your Premium Rate Statement has been issued and is available through WCB Alberta online access.
It has been and continues to be a time of great uncertainty as we navigate our way through COVID-19, the economic impact of which will be felt for years to come. In 2020 and 2021, many Workers’ Compensation Boards (WCB) across Canada offered WCB premium relief measures to address the financial difficulties facing employers. Although the support was a welcome reprieve, WCB’s nationwide ended up absorbing premium shortfalls in order to maintain rate stability for employers and this is reflected in the premium rate statements currently being issued.
Your Premium Rate Statement not only advises you of the WCB Premium rate you have been assessed for the coming year but provides you with the information used to calculate your rate.
COVID-19 has changed the way some businesses operate; altered what they do and how they do it. As a result, some organizations might be categorized differently resulting in a change in their premium calculations. Additionally, work-related COVID-19 claims and claims impacted by COVID-19 will appear on the statement of claims and be included in the rate calculation. Although employers are eligible for cost relief on many of these claims, cost relief may not be applied or, at least, not applied correctly.
The rate-setting process is complex at the best of times and even the smallest change in the data used can have a significant impact on the number of premiums you pay. Due to COVID-19, employers need to be particularly diligent when reviewing their premium rate statements to ensure that the information used to set their rate is accurate.
The following are some of the important things to consider while reviewing your statement:
- Is your Company name/address correct?
- Have your operations or business changed?
- Has COVID-19 affected your business?
- Are you classified in the most appropriate Industry?
- Has your Industry Code changed?
- Are you being assessed a surcharge?
- For Alberta employers, are you also paying a Poor Performance Surcharge (PPS)?
- Are any discounts being applied appropriately?
- Do you qualify for any combined experience discounts?
- Can you identify all the claims listed on the Experience Rate Claims Cost or statement of claims?
- Are the costs associated with those claims accurate?
- Do you have any claims impacted by COVID-19?
- Has COVID-19 cost relief been applied appropriately for any applicable claims?
- Is there anything on your Premium Rate Statement that you don’t understand?
The WCB as a whole is complicated and can be overwhelming – rate setting is no exception. It is in your best interest to advise the WCB of any inaccuracies or misinformation as soon as possible. A recalculation could result in a premium reduction and even if it doesn’t, it guards against any unexpected surprises later on.
Finally, just a gentle reminder that annual payroll reporting is due, in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan by the last day of February each year.
As always, we are here to answer your questions to the best of our ability. If you have concerns regarding your premium statement, payroll reporting, COVID-19 claims or are looking for ways to lower your WCB premiums, you can contact us directly, during business hours, using our chat feature or by phone at 1-844-377-9545, you can reach us by email at [email protected], [email protected], and you can always connect with us on Facebook ,Twitter , or LinkedIn.
