Always Check Your WSIB Monthly Cost Statement

Do you regularly check your monthly WSIB costs statements? 

Clear Path’s Anna Aceto-Guerin shares reasons why this is a must if you want to keep your claim costs down. 

She also highlights some specific things to watch for when you checking your statements.

Real-world proof that you should always be checking:

Clear Path recently received a decision at an ARO Appeal resulting in 6 months of Loss of Earnings (LOE) benefits being denied on a client’s claim, in addition to 50% SIEF cost relief we had already acquired on the same claim. 

Checking the customer’s monthly cost statement, we discovered that the SIEF was applied correctly but that the LOE had not been removed. With a bit more investigation, we discovered from the WSIB Case manager that the Appeals decision from the ARO had not been referred to the implementation team. Someone at the WSIB had “dropped the ball” and without our follow-up this mistake may never have been found – which would have resulted in significant costs for the employer.

Here are a few things to watch out for:

1. Ensure any SIEF cost relief has been applied properly. 

• Know what the % of SIEF should be, as the % acquired is not actually indicated on the monthly cost or the NEER statement. 
• Ensure the math is right by checking the numbers on your monthly cost statement.

2. Ensure that any LOE that has been denied is actually removed on your next statement.

• See our case study above, which saved the client thousands of dollars.

3. Keep an eye on when a Non-Economic Loss (NEL) award is actually paid out.

• NEL awards which are paid out between January 1 - August 31 will make a claim active for that September's NEER review period.
• Active claims will result in dramatically higher costs for your company, so you need to be aware of this change in status.

4. Notice if costs for a claim allowed as a REO have gone onto a new claim in error.

• An incident that is deemed a reoccurrence should not receive a new claim number.
• A reoccurrence (or REO claim) may already be outside of your 4 year NEER window, meaning that your company will not be responsible for related costs.

5. Ensure old claims are not re-activated without you knowing.

• This can be particularly tricky in cases where a division or location might be shut down, as the individual may no longer work at the facility but may start to collect benefits again.

6. Physiotherapist or other healthcare costs that continue when a claim is closed

• If the worker has returned to regular duties, continued healthcare costs (such as physiotherapy) may indicate that the worker is having ongoing issues.​

Want to learn more?
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Come out to one of our upcoming NEER sessions to find out what to look for (offered in both Introductory and Advanced levels). If you can’t make a session, call one of our friendly consultants who will help you make sure that you are not missing any costs savings! We can be reached at (519) 624-0800.

Related blog posts:

• War of Words on WSIB Changes (7/8/2014)
• WSIB Making Progress: Hard Reality for Employers (11/25/2013)
• WSIB Releases 2013 Stats, Show Decrease in Claims (7/9/2013)
• Clear Path's 2013 Year in Review (12/17/2013)

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