Worker’s Compensation Experience Mod 101

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A worker’s compensation experience modification factor, also known as an “experience mod” or “mod factor,” is a number used by insurance companies to calculate the premium for a business’s worker’s compensation insurance policy. It is based on the business’s historical claim experience and is intended to reflect the risk or safety level of the business’s operations.

The experience modification factor compares the actual losses (or claims) experienced by a business with the expected losses for similar businesses in the same industry. It takes into account both the frequency and severity of past claims. The formula for calculating the mod factor involves comparing the business’s actual losses to the expected losses, adjusting for the size of the business and industry standards.

The mod factor is typically expressed as a percentage, where 1.00 is considered the industry average. A mod factor greater than 1.00 indicates that the business has had more claims or more severe claims than expected, and as a result, the business’s worker’s compensation insurance premium will be higher than average. Conversely, a mod factor less than 1.00 suggests better-than-average loss experience, leading to lower insurance premiums.

For example, if a business has a mod factor of 1.20, it means their worker’s compensation insurance premium will be 20% higher than the standard premium. On the other hand, a business with a mod factor of 0.80 will enjoy a 20% discount on their premium.

The experience modification factor is a tool used by insurance companies to incentivize businesses to prioritize safety measures and reduce workplace injuries. By encouraging businesses to maintain a safe work environment and effectively manage claims, insurance companies aim to reward those with lower mod factors and, in turn, lower insurance costs.

It’s important for business owners to understand their experience modification factor and actively work on reducing it through effective safety programs, risk management practices, and prompt claims management. By improving safety records and minimizing claims, businesses can potentially reduce their worker’s compensation insurance costs over time.

Surviving the Storm: Navigating a Hard Insurance Market as a Business Owner

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A hard insurance market refers to a period of time when it becomes more difficult and expensive for businesses to purchase insurance coverage for their operations. During a hard market, insurance companies may become more selective in the types of risks they are willing to insure, which can result in fewer coverage options for businesses. Additionally, insurance premiums tend to increase during a hard market as insurers try to offset losses from previous years.

As a business owner, this can be challenging because you may be faced with limited insurance options and higher costs for the coverage you need. You may find that certain types of coverage, such as property insurance or liability insurance, are more difficult to obtain or come with higher deductibles or exclusions. This can leave your business vulnerable to potential risks and losses.

During a hard market, it’s important to work closely with an experienced insurance broker who can help you navigate the market and find the best coverage options for your business. You may need to consider adjusting your risk management strategies or investing in additional safety measures to reduce your overall risk exposure. Ultimately, the goal is to maintain adequate insurance coverage while also minimizing the impact of higher premiums on your bottom line.

How can a business owner adjust their risk management strategy?

Invest in risk management: One way to reduce insurance risk is to invest in risk management strategies that can help minimize potential losses. This could include implementing safety measures, providing employee training programs, and regularly conducting inspections of facilities and equipment. By reducing the likelihood of accidents and other incidents, a business can decrease their overall risk exposure and potentially qualify for lower insurance premiums.

Is Toilet Paper Considered An Insurable High-Value Item in 2021?

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For those of you who started collecting toilet paper in 2020 – unfortunately, we are here to tell you that your collection is not considered a high-value insurable item in 2021! Quite honestly, we are hoping that trend was left in 2020.  You may, however, have some other items we need to look at. Jewelry, artwork, musical instruments, collector items, silverware, antiques, golf equipment, firearms, and cameras are all items that might be quite valuable and require special insurance coverage.

High-value items are covered under the “personal property coverage” on a standard homeowner’s insurance policy. A typical homeowners or renters insurance policy has individual limits on these certain types of valuable and hard-to-replace items.  For example – jewelry is usually covered up to $2,500 for a combined value. If an individual piece of jewelry exceeds the $2500 limit there is no coverage for the difference, or for any other jewelry, unless additional coverage was purchased.

This limited coverage clause can leave severe gaps in your insurance policy!  If you are faced with theft or a total loss, some of your most valuables may not be replaced.

The good news is there is an easy and low-cost solution to this issue, simply “schedule” these items on your insurance policy.  How do you schedule items on an insurance policy? You send a list of information to your agent – description, value, etc. – and they will add it to your policy. Yes, it’s that easy!  These scheduled items are frequently covered on an “all-risk” basis, so if anything happens you have coverage!

Will my credit rating change my insurance rates?

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I was recently asked this question by one of our The Insurance Group clients, and thought I would share the answer here for our readers.

There are a lot of things that go into homeowners and auto insurance rates, one of them being credit. I’ve heard a lot of complaints from people who don’t like the fact that insurance companies use credit in their underwriting.

Some people have absolutely no idea that it’s used in the rate at all.

At the end of the day, there’s not much we can do about it though. Insurance companies have been using credit in their rates for decades, and that’s not likely to change.

By the way, insurance companies don’t pull your credit like a mortgage company or credit card company does. There is no negative impact on your credit as a result of an insurance company looking at it.

When I say “pull” what I mean is that the insurance company is doing what’s called a soft inquiry, which is not the same thing as having your credit pulled (hard inquiry).

When does credit play a role in insurance rates?
It’s important to understand that insurance companies don’t continuously check or monitor your credit. Usually, they only check it when you first get a quote and/or sign up with them in the very beginning.

This means that if your credit score increases (or decreases) your insurance company does not automatically know about it.

So, to my customers question of whether or not his increased credit score will lower his rates, the answer is not automatically.

What has to be done on our side as the agent is contact the carrier the insurance and ask them to do what’s commonly referred to as a “re-score”. This is when the insurance company can re-run the person’s credit (soft inquiry) to see if there is any positive bearing on the rate.

This isn’t something that the insurance company is going to let the agency do every single year, so it’s not worth even asking unless there has been a significant change in your credit score, and only you as the customer would know if that was the case.

If you’d like to get a better handle on your credit rating, it could be helpful to setup credit monitoring. We hope this was helpful! As always, leave us comment below if you have any questions.

Why Do My Auto Insurance Rates Keep Going Up Even Though My Car Keeps Getting Older?

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Why do my auto insurance rates keep going up even though my car is getting older?  At The Insurance Group, many of our clients ask this question so I would like to address it from a couple of angles.

First things first, even though it’s called car/auto insurance, it covers more than just your car. It should technically be called “auto-owners” insurance, similarly to how home insurance is actually called “home owners insurance”.

It’s important to understand that there are a lot of variables that go into insurance premiums, and with auto insurance, it’s no different.

The insurance company is much more concerned with you crashing into someone and causing them (or yourself) bodily harm, or death, than they are about your car. A car is a material possession which can be replaced.

A human life is not.

When is the last time you looked at your auto insurance policy?
If you look at it you’ll notice there are a lot of different coverages on your auto policy.

Bodily injury
Property damage
Un-insured motorist
Under-insured motorist
Medical Payments
Loss of Income
Funeral Expense
Loss of use
Rental Reimbursement

These are all things that you are covered for on your auto policy. How many of them have to do with your car?

None.

How many of them have a price next to them on your policy?

All of them.

Your car isn’t the only thing you’re being charged for on your policy
That’s because auto insurance covers far more important things than your car as mentioned above.

Let me re-phrase that: your car insurance rate isn’t just based on your car.

You’re not the only one…
It’s also important to understand that you are not the only person your insurance company insures. You are one fish in an ocean of other fish, sharks, and sea creatures, all who have different characteristics and risk profiles.

Insurance is all about spreading costs over a large number (risk pool) of people, which each person paying their fare share. That risk pool is constantly changing, and is impacted by a ton of different things, including the overall economic climate.

This means that you are sharing in the cost of millions of other people, many of whom may have poor loss history and/or credit.

That’s what insurance is though — sharing in the cost.

The next time your auto insurance rates go up, take a look at the big picture. Make sure you’re looking at ALL of the coverages, and corresponding rates.

Hope this helps!  If you would like to know more about Car Insurance be sure to visit our page dedicated to it.