Managing Claims Costs
With all the recent legislative changes in Alberta, both federally and provincially, involving workers’ compensation, occupational health and safety, cannabis, and more, it is no wonder employers find it challenging to adapt and adjust to new standards while continuing to be operational. Economic, environmental, legal, and legislative developments define our everyday working world. Navigating this ever-changing landscape can be overwhelming. Identifying and addressing the areas that you have control over can be far more productive than worrying about the things you don’t as an employer. For most employers, work-related injuries and illnesses are a harsh reality of doing business and not just from a productivity perspective. From a financial perspective as well. Disruption of operations is not the only ramification of an on-the-job accident or incident. The cost of every Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) claim can negatively affect a company’s WCB premium rate. Workers’ compensation premiums are an unavoidable operational […]
What is Partnership in Injury Reduction (PIR) and How to Get Involved.
It’s Not Too Late! Register in WCB Alberta’s Partnerships in Injury Reduction (PIR) by December 31, 2017 and still be eligible for PIR rebated for 2017 and 2018 The annual Experience Rating statements will soon be released, so now is a good time for employers to look at ways to maintain or improve their WCB premium rate. In Alberta, your claims experience from the past three years is used to establish your premium rate for the coming year – in other words, your WCB claims from 2014, 2015 and 2016 will be used to determine your premium rate for 2018.
What is a Concurrent Condition and How Does it Affect Temporary Disability Benefits?
On June 6, 2017, the WCB Alberta announced changes to policies regarding the application of cost relief for concurrent conditions, directly affecting Policy 04-02, Part II, Application 1, paragraph 11 and Policy 05-02, Part II, Application 1. The proposed changes were put forward on December 8, 2016 and the WCB welcomed comments and input until March 9, 2017. More details on the possible implications of the proposed changes can be found on our blog. Now that the policy changes have been implemented, what exactly has changed, and how does it affect employers? Let’s take a closer look: By WCB definition, a concurrent condition refers to a non-compensable condition that exists at the same time as a compensable disability. The onset or identification of a concurrent condition can occur either before or after a compensable accident and may or may not have an impact on a worker’s recovery from a compensable […]
No Time Loss Claims Cost Threshold Increase
On January 12, 2021, the Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) announced that the claims cost threshold for No Time Loss (NTL) claims would remain at $1,500, the same as it has been since 2019 when the amount was raised from $1,400. But how does that impact WCB premiums? Although WCB cost threshold increases are not usually a benefit to employers, an increase to the NTL claims cost threshold is. What is a No Time Loss claim? The WCB defines a NTL claim as a situation where, following a work-related accident, an injured worker returns to regular duties without losing time from work beyond the day of accident and does not sustain a permanent disability. Medical costs and other benefits are issued but no income replacement payments are made. Employers are responsible to pay full wages for the day the accident occurred, therefore if time loss from work is necessary to […]
WCB Accident Fund Surplus: Have Your Say
As part of the government directed WCB Review currently underway in Alberta, the Review Panel is taking a closer look at WCB-Alberta’s Accident Fund and how it is managed. This has been a topic of discussion in recent workshops and the Panel is very keen on getting as much input as possible from stakeholders. WCB Accident Fund The Accident Fund is established from Employer Premiums. The WCB is funded through premiums assessed to employers. There are no tax dollars or employee payroll deductions involved in the workers’ compensation system. Each year the WCB establishes the premiums that employers will pay. These rates are set so that the total premiums collected in the current year will pay for all estimated present and future costs of claims that occur during that year. Based on the overall amount of premiums that need to be collected, the WCB determines premium rates for each industry […]