The question of whether rates will increase is one that we hear quite often. Unfortunately, the nature of the economy is such that we can expect to see increases from time to time. Many experts are saying that given the current market employers may expect to see a deterioration in combined ratios on the part of insurers and higher costs for the coverage itself. Already many purchasers are seeing an increase in their costs, but many insurers are still working hard to hold on to those accounts that they view as favored.
Underwriters themselves are working to increase profitability and as such are continuing to tighten standards. According to Curt LeBeau, the Milwaukee United Heartland division Vice President of insurance operations, the industry is finally beginning to realize that there are changes needed to maintain if not increase the probability of workers compensation insurance lines. Only a year ago many large workers compensation insurers were still able to maintain their pricing with some even still able to negotiate savings.
This ability to offer consistent savings has begun to dry up for some carriers for a very interesting reason. Simply put, many insurers simply have no other lines that could help increase the volume of their premiums. That being said, many insurers are simply losing their edge as all are being affected equally. The good news is that most of the price increases tend to be within the single digit range as an average. Mainly, guaranteed cost programs are those seeing the largest increases. Here is one of the most important takeaways… Even though there is a great deal of movement in the market there are still many deals available.
Therein lies the big issue. Just because prices are increasing throughout the market does not mean that you will necessarily feel the pain. Here at The Hoffman Agency we have employers coming in asking how they might do something about their current workers compensation rates. This is the first step in the right direction. As an insurance agency we are able to reach out to the different insurance companies and identify those that will be able to offer you the best possible rates.
Are there ways that you can help in the process? Most definitely. Believe it or not the very first thing you can do to attract better rates will be to ensure that your business has a robust safety program. Really? Most definitely! One of the fastest ways to reduce your potential workers compensation costs is to help ensure that the likelihood of bad accidents, etc are as close to nil as possible. Moving forward, as you continue to have relatively small or fewer and fewer claims we will be able to continually work to find better rates and/or more attainable discounts.
There is no denying that workers compensation rates are rising for many different employers. The heartening thing however is that this rise in rates doesn’t have to hit you in the budget. Got questions on how you can save money on your workers comp coverage? Drop by and have a sit down with us today.
