Group rating: Keeping you informed

Updated July 2008

Making improvements to Ohio’s workers’ compensation system includes better aligning premiums with the claims costs of individual employers and ensuring discounts correspond with a measurable reduction in risk. These factors, among others, were considered as part of the proposed recommendations presented to the BWC Board of Directors in June 2008.

The proposed recommendations included:

• The implementation of a nationally tested, split experience rating plan by July 1, 2011.
• Implementing a transitional reduction in the maximum discount from 85 percent to 77 percent beginning July 1, 2009;
• Capping premium increases due to these changes at 20 percent for employers affected by the discount reductions;
• Capping premium increases due to an employer’s claim history at 100 percent for all employers, particularly those removed from a group; and the
• Development of new, performance-based program options that will encourage employers to manage costs and improve workplace safety efforts.

On June 27, 2008, the BWC Board of Directors unanimously approved this first series of recommendations. BWC will continue working with external stakeholders to further study and improve group-rating rules and governance, as well as to develop a broad menu of new performance-based discount options, and report these findings to the board in December 2008. Other aspects of the long-term plan, such as an additional discount reduction in 2010 and the transition to a split rating plan in 2011 will be addressed after further testing and impact analysis are complete.

Because changes to Ohio’s group-rating program impact a wide variety of employers and stakeholders, we want to provide information in a timely and convenient manner. The links that follow include information from stakeholder meetings, actuarial analyses, external communications and other helpful resources. These pages will be updated with new materials as they become available.

Please send questions or feedback to our Group-rating information mailbox.

Related links
Group-rating resources
Group-rating workgroup materials
Group-rating external communications
Actuarial anlyses: 1990 to 2007