The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) recently approved some changes concerning the way they collect premium from businesses. Currently, companies pay workers’ compensation premium six-months in arrears. In other words, employers pay premiums after the six-month coverage period. For example, in February of 2014 businesses will pay premiums covering the period of July 2013 through December 2013.
At their last meeting, the BWC Board of Directors approved a transition to a prospective premium collection model. Here is a one-page fact sheet summarizing this change.
Along with the fact sheet, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- From a premium collection standpoint, nothing will change until 2015.
The next three premium payments due to BWC in February and August of 2014, as well as February of 2015 will be billed as usual. The first prospective premium payment will not be due until August of 2015. - There will be no “double whammy” of premium when BWC makes this transition.
Many have expressed the concern of being hit with double premium when BWC “flips the switch” to a new system – paying the last retrospective payment and the first prospective payment. As part of the “Billion Back” initiative announced by BWC earlier this year, BWC will grant employers a transition credit for their final retrospective premium payment. In addition, BWC will apply a transition credit for the first two months of the 2015 policy year period (July and August) to create additional savings for employers. - The change to a prospective premium payment system will impact enrollment deadlines for alternative rating programs such as group rating and group retrospective rating.
As you know, we are currently enrolling companies for traditional group and group retrospective rating for the 2014 policy year period (7/1/14-6/30/15). Current enrollment deadlines will still apply for the 2014 programs – February 28, 2014 for traditional group and April 30, 2014 for group retrospective rating. However, we will have a compressed marketing and enrollment cycle for the 2015 programs. The filing deadline for 2015 traditional group rating programs will be November 30, 2014. The deadline for 2015 group retrospective rating programs will be January 31, 2015.
The MIRA’s partner for workers’ compensation, Careworks Consultants Inc (CCI) will help MIRA members transition through this change and answer any questions you may have. MIRA’s representative is Theresa Passwater and she can be reached at 800-837-3200 ext 7248 or theresa.passwater@ccitpa.com.