Get a Quote

Workers' Compensation Insurance

Workers' compensation insurance in Pennsylvania works two ways: it protect your employees and it protects your business. If an employee is injured on the job, work comp insurance will pay for medical care, disability (whether permanent or temporary), and death benefits. If you are found to be liable for employee injury or illness, workers' compensation can protect you and your business. If you have employee, this type of insurance is mandatory.

Work comp insurance: guidance and competitive options

Check with a work comp agent at Mitchell Insurance, Inc. to explore coverage options for you. As an independent insurance agent we represent several top rated work comp insurance companies and can get you the right coverage that fits your business insurance budget.

What You Need to Understand When It Comes to Work Comp

Work Comp pays for employee injuries, right? Wrong. YOU PAY.

1. Your experience modification goes up for three years after an injury, by as much as 25% per year.

Let's say for example that you have been injury free for the last 5 years, but in 2018, an employee cuts their hand and has medical bills as well as lost time. Here's a likely result:

        Not only did the premium double by 2022, but it cost $22,918 more over three years than it would have, if there were no losses in 2018. The premiums over four years were $78,250 instead of $55,332. And that's only if the carrier doesn't raise rates or drop coverage due to the claim (in that scenario, this employer could be paying $50,000 by 2022).

2. You pay for lost productivity
3. You pay for low morale of other employees who fill in for the injured employee
4. You pay for increased management and stress and potentially hiring or training new employees

Whether you are competing on a bid, buying resources for production, or serving clients, you now have a huge deficit to make up that your competitors do not. Can you afford that loss in your profits?

You can't stand idly by when it comes to injuries and claims' management, but we can help you by:

1. Establishing a physician panel that gives you a say in getting the proper care for your employee
2. Assisting with claim reporting in a timely manner
3. Setting you up with representatives who will help your employees make and keep appointments
4. Reviewing open claims with current and prior carriers
5. Assessing reserve payments
6. Helping to proactively pursue claim closing before unnecessary reserves impact your experience mod
7. Helping you develop a return to work program for injured employees (this is beneficial regardless of your company size, because of the motivation it provides employees to rehab and return to full duty, and is the biggest factor in saving you as the employer from additional expenses and therefore additional premium)
8. Helping you establish job descriptions that enable your employees to work within their abilities and within doctor recommendations while they recover

Work Comp Classifications matter

If you are improperly classified, you could be overpaying. In Pennsylvania, classifications are assigned by the PA Compensation Rating Bureau. When operations change, classifications could change as well. We can help you request an audit with the PCRB to ensure you are properly classified. This could mean a reduction in premium and if the re-classification is in your favor, the new classification could be reassessed for the past three policy periods and premiums returned accordingly.

For example, we had one client who through classification changes, saw their premium drop from $40,000 in 2017 to $18,000 in 2018 after an audit that properly aligned their classification from warehousing to manufacturing.

Another client after being reclassified saw their premium reduced by 59% from 2018 to 2019 due to the reclassification and the ability to move to a carrier with lower rates in the more favorable class. In addition, they received premium refunds for the current and two prior policy periods of over 50% of their original premium.

Work Comp Audits make a difference

Work Comp audits affect everyone, but making sure they are done correctly is particularly important for contractors. If you are a contractor with employees who perform several different job duties, you should be keeping track of which employees are doing what job and when. For example, a kitchen and bathroom contractor who is laying floor, doing trim and framing work, and also hanging cabinets could be overpaying if they aren't tracking when each employee is doing each job. The rate for residential carpentry is almost 30% higher than the rate for cabinet installation, but if you aren't keeping track, all of your payroll will be rolled in to the higher rate when the audit comes.

For example, one of our clients received a $12,000 audit bill when payroll was assigned to residential carpentry, but when we worked with them to make sure their employees were classified properly, the audit was readjusted and their final bill was reduced to just over $100.  

Workers' compensation might be one of the easiest policies to buy (or for an insurance agent to sell), but it is one of the most complex to manage and understand. That's why we maintain Certified WorkComp Advisor and Certified WorkComp Specialist designations amongst our employees. We want to understand and meet your needs to help you navigate and save when it comes to work comp costs and keeping employees safe and productive for your business.

Shopping for the lowest work comp rates helps, but it isn't the biggest factor in your premiums

1. Prevent injuries by starting with informed hiring and appropriate training
2. Reduce frequency of claims
3. Reduce severity of claims
4. Reduce length of claims by treating injuries quickly
5. Reduce impact of claims by getting employees back to work promptly
6. Keep your experience mod low and therefore attract insurance carriers to your business

Our Workers' Compensation expertise runs deep

At Mitchell Insurance, we KNOW Workers' Compensation; in fact, we have five people on our staff with the coveted Certified Workers' Compensation Advisor Designation plus one who is a Certified Workers' Compensation Specialist.  We even have a focused practice in Workers' Comp known throughout Pennsylvania as Keystone CompControl - click here to learn more.  

Do you have questions about Workers' Compensation Insurance?

Contact an insurance specialist at Mitchell Insurance, Inc. today to answer any questions about Workers' Compensation Insurance or for a free analysis of your Workers' Compensation Insurance.

Do you have questions about Workers' Compensation Insurance?

Contact an insurance agent at Mitchell Insurance, Inc. today to answer any questions about Workers' Compensation Insurance or for a free review and insurance quote for Workers' Compensation Insurance. And don't forget, as an independent insurance agency, we represent several top rated insurance companies. We have the flexibility to help you find coverage at competitive premiums for business, home, auto, and more.