CASE STUDY

Advisor helps janitorial service sweep away high injury rate

» insured

The insured is a janitorial services company with over 300 employees and annual revenues in excess of $8 million.

» Situation

The company experienced steady increases in its Experience Modification Factor from 2006-2008, with a high of 1.33. Annual premiums were well over $100,000.

Assessment

Certified WorkComp Advisors (CWCAs) assessed the situation and found the company had an extremely high number of injury claims from 2006-2008, averaging 27 per year.  Along with adversely impacting the Experience Mod, the frequency of claims was creating a negative culture in the company as some of the injuries were thought to be suspect. With no formal program to monitor and track the claims and return employees to work, there were a number of costly open claims on the books.

Solution

CWCAs immediately implemented a strict policy for claims investigations and monitoring from the moment they occur to closing, which immediately resulted in the closing of three open claims. Incentive programs were also put in place for job safety, and an improved Return-To-Work program was implemented. It was also discovered that there was an open claim for $126,000 on the books for 2010, which could negatively impact the Experience Mod for that year. The Advisor, discovering the claim was actually from 2005 and had been previously closed, had the claim removed for the current year.

Result

As a result of the actions, CWCAs were instrumental in lowering the company’s Experience Mod from 1.33 to 1.13 in 2010. Even more important, the number of injury claims dropped from the average of 27 in 2006-2008 to only three.