Unrelated Death of an Employee Lead to WSIB Cost Savings

Clear Path consultant Michelle Strassburger recently achieved significant WSIB cost savings for a client facing an unusual situation: an employee that had a workplace accident in 2011 had since died of natural causes (not related to the accident).

Details

• Clear Path consultants regularly review our customers' NEER Statements from the WSIB in order to provide an estimate on future surcharges or rebates.
• A routine telephone conversation with this client triggered Michelle Strassburger to investigate potential NEER cost savings after the death of an employee from natural causes.
• This particular employee had a 2011 WSIB claim which included projected future costs of approximately $27,000 as noted on the company’s September 2014 NEER Statement.  Since the employee passed away in June 2014, the WSIB's policy dictates that any projected future costs could be removed as they no longer applied.
• After contacting Service Ontario for a death certificate, our consultant submitted it to the WSIB for review and requested that future costs be removed. The WSIB Case Manager ruled that in these circumstances a recalculation of the company’s September 2014 NEER results was appropriate.  
• By removing the projected future costs of the deceased employee’s claim, the company's claim costs were reduced by approximately $40,000. The client moved from being in a surcharge position (having to pay an additional fee) to receiving a rebate of approximately $18,500.

Understand the NEER system

It is essential that all business owners, managers and HR professionals understand that the WSIB's NEER program and how various decisions can impact the company's claim costs. We recommend attending one of Clear Path's popular Intro to the WSIB's NEER Program workshop, which you can learn more about here.

Review cost statements for inaccuracies and anomalies

Reviewing both your monthly cost statement and quarterly NEER statement for any inaccuracies is important.  The WSIB will NOT identify these for you, as demonstrated in the vignette above. It is important to remember that WSIB policy dictates that should the employer identify any mistakes, they must provide the details to the WSIB as new information and request any costs to be removed or recalculated. 

Understand when things have become too complicated

Manaing your company's Worker’s Compensation is a job in itself and many employers have added this stressful responsibility to already busy HR professionals.  If you do not have the time or experience to accurately manage WSIB claims, consider outsourcing to the experts!  Clear Path Employer Services provides experienced claim management and NEER Experience Rating advice to help employers reduce their disability claim costs. 

Contact one of our consultants to request a complimentary NEER review. 

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