Workers’ Compensation Offerings At Complete Payroll Solutions

If you’re like most businesses, you’re required to carry workers’ compensation coverage for your employees even if you just have one worker. That’s because it’s required in all states but Texas. But the difference in requirements can vary depending on where you live as well as your options for purchasing a policy. Since understanding the rules for buying workers’ compensation insurance can be complicated, it can be helpful to work with a broker to find coverage at the best possible cost. If you decide to go that route, Complete Payroll Solutions could be an ideal partner. Let’s find out.

To help you decide if we’re the right choice for you, here we’ll discuss our workers’ compensation services and costs. After reading this, you’ll know if Complete Payroll Solutions is the best partner for your business’ needs.

How much is workers’ compensation with Complete Payroll Solutions?

There’s no single answer to this question since workers’ compensation costs with Complete Payroll Solutions can vary depending on your industry and other factors. The three biggest factors impacting workers’ compensation costs are:

1. Class Code: Class codes, or classification codes, are numbers set by the National Council on Compensation Insurance or, in some cases, states, based on the risks associated with the type of work your employees do. For example, code 8810 is for clerical office employees and 3076 is for sheet metal manufacturing workers. In most states, known as competitive states, insurance carriers create a base rate for each code and submit them for approval by the Department of Insurance or similar agency. In some cases, like Massachusetts, the rates are instead set by the state. Either way, generally speaking, the greater risk of a workplace accident your employees face, the higher the rate for workers’ compensation. 
2. Payroll: Another factor impacting what you’ll pay is the size of your workforce since workers’ compensation is calculated per $100 of payroll. That means that the more employees you have, the more your premiums will likely be because of the greater potential exposure to workplace injuries.
3. Past Claims History: Another consideration in calculating your costs is whether you’ve had workers’ compensation claims in the past. If you have, the number of claims and seriousness of them will be taken into account. Based on your past claims experience and how it compares to others in your industry, you may be assigned an experience modifier that acts as either a credit or debit against your premium. For example, if the average modification rate for your industry is 1.0 and you have fewer claims or accidents, then your rate would be less than 1.0. On the other hand, if you have a 1.5 modification rate, you’ll pay an extra 50 percent.

There are other things that could also increase what you’ll pay for workers’ compensation. One is whether you also have to buy a disability policy along with workers’ compensation. This coverage is required in certain states like New York. If this situation applies to you, you’ll have to consider the additional costs of providing disability benefits coverage to your employees.

In addition, you may have to pay more if you’re assigned to a risk pool in your state. A risk pool is a way for very high-risk companies or new businesses without a loss history to get workers’ compensation insurance if they can’t get it through traditional insurers. Businesses who need to get workers’ compensation through an assigned risk plan usually pay higher rates.

Since Complete Payroll Solutions has our own insurance agency and experts in house, we can consider all the factors we just discussed and find you the best rates and coverages available by quoting from multiple insurance carriers such as:

• The Hartford
• Travelers
• The Beacon
• Berkshire Hathaway GUARD

How can Complete Payroll Solutions help me save on workers’ compensation costs?

We understand that workers’ compensation is a large expense for many companies. Our team will work with you to see if there are opportunities for you to potentially lower your premium costs.

One thing we’ll do is look into any state or industry group discounts that may be able to take advantage of. For example, in New York, if you have an experience rating of less than 1.30 and an annual premium of at least $5,000, you can get a credit if you volunteer to start a program for drug and alcohol prevention.

We’ll also investigate any exemptions that may apply in your particular case since some states exclude certain types of workers. For example, in Maine, sole proprietors, partners, and LLC members are exempt but can still choose to opt into coverage. By eliminating these staff members, you’ll lower the payroll costs used to calculate your premiums.

Another way we’ll try to help you manage costs is with pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation. With traditional workers’ compensation insurance, you may need to pay large up-front premium charges of 25% to 100% of the estimated premium. This amount is based on your anticipated annual gross payroll – not actual.

To eliminate these lump sum payments, pay-as-you-go insurance lets you pay premiums based on your actual payroll volume. With this approach, your premium calculations are directly integrated with actual wages per job, on a per pay period basis. So, for example, if an employee leaves, your premium would go down. This real-time approach allows for:

• More accurate budgeting
• Reduced initial outlay of cash
• Increased cash flow
• Simplified year-end audits

What customer support does Complete Payroll Solutions offer?

As your workers’ compensation broker, we’ll work with you to gather the required information to solicit quotes from different insurance carriers. This information includes:

• Type of company
• Federal employer identification number
• Number of years in operation
• Locations
• Number of employees
• Whether officers will be included/excluded
• Payroll amount
• Your loss experience
• Current workers’ compensation coverage, if applicable

Once we have quotes to present to you, one of our licensed insurance professionals will walk through them and help you pick the right policy and insurer based on your needs and budget.

After you get coverage through us, we’ll assign an account representative to service your business going forward. This professional will help you stay on top of changes in the state workers’ compensation market, manage claims issues that may arise, and issue certificates of coverage when requested. 

How to Choose the Best Workers’ Compensation Partner for Your Business

There are many choices when it comes to buying a workers’ compensation policy. But if you’ve narrowed down your list and Complete Payroll Solutions is on it, we may be the right fit for your business if you:

• Prefer to secure coverage from a company that has its own internal insurance agency rather than working with an affiliate or third-party agency
• Want the option to get pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation for more accurate premiums that are spread out over your payroll cycle
• Are already a payroll client and want to streamline workers’ compensation administration through seamless integration with your payroll solution

If we sound like an ideal partner for you, the next step is to view our pricing page.