CASE STUDY

Tool wholesaler uses wellness program to trim fat off Experience Mod

» insured

A tool wholesaler with 70 employees and revenue of $25 million.

» Situation

Within four years, the company had seen its Experience Modification Factor rise steadily from the industry average of 1.0 to a staggering high of 2.0. As a result, the company was in danger of being placed in an assigned risk pool at very high rates.

Assessment

Certified WorkComp Advisors (CWCA) began an extensive analysis of all data culled from Experience Mod reports, loss run reports, OSHA logs, incident reports and safety reports. They found that there were no programs in place to manage Worker Comp costs. There was no Return-to-Work program, safety committee, nor relationship with an occupational medical facility. Similarly, there were no benchmarks for recovery and employees were staying out on Workers’ Compensation longer than necessary. The due diligence also revealed that many injuries could be avoided with an emphasis on a healthier workforce. For instance, it was felt that a back injury claim could have been avoided by implementing simple stretching exercises prior to lifting. This situation was compounded by an error in judgment by an adjuster adding to the increases.

Solution

The CWCA immediately placed a health coach on site to work with employees in areas such as exercise and proper nutrition, as a way to prevent injuries before they occurred. The impact was immediate as employees started to feel better about themselves and were able to catch a potential injury before it happened. The company also instituted a Return-to Work program and established a safety committee to monitor open claims and implement modified duties when needed.

Result

As a direct result of these initiatives, the company’s Experience Mod went down from 2.0 to 1.4, and just recently fell below 1.0. In addition, the employer’s Workers’ Comp health costs have been cut by 50%.