Many companies are leaving themselves exposed to lawsuits for errors and other issues that crop up in their work because they lack professional liability insurance.

Traditionally it’s been architects, accountants and lawyers who would purchase this coverage, but with more work like coding, programing and other ventures spawned by technology, the need for this type of protection has grown.

In fact, a recent report by Forbes Insights and The Hanover found that 40% of small business owners believe they face professional risks, yet they have not purchased professional liability coverage as part of their overall insurance package.  

Many more firms are in the business of consulting or providing hi-tech services. In addition, the rampant growth of social media has also fueled the need for this type of coverage.

Professional liability insurance, also called errors and omissions insurance (E & O insurance), protects your business if you are sued for negligently performing your services, even if you haven’t made a mistake.

Businesses that need professional services coverage include:

• Technology and software firms
• Health, beauty and well-being services
• Therapists
• Architects and engineers
• Real estate agencies
• Consultants
• Marketing and advertising firms
• Medical professionals
• Wedding and event planners.

Coverage gaps

If you are relying solely on a general liability policy, it may not cover you in the event of a lawsuit over an issue with the services that you have rendered. 

Professional liability coverage can be especially important if you have customers who sue you for non-performance of your products or services, or withhold payment due to a contract dispute.

This is especially true if you are:

• Performing consulting work, training or other services for customers.
• Involved in work requiring special licenses.
• Designing, recommending, installing or testing products.
• Designing software or apps to a client’s specifications.

What it covers

Negligence – Professional liability insurance coverage can protect you and your business against actual or alleged errors and omissions that may occur while providing your professional services. 

These claims can include anything from giving incorrect advice or omitting a piece of information, to failing to deliver your service within a desired timeframe.

Legal costs – The policy includes covering your legal costs in defending against a claim. Some insurers will even appoint an attorney to represent you.

Examples

• A marketing consultant develops a drip e-mail campaign for a retailer that doesn’t generate the number of leads expected. 
• A management consultant develops an organizational strategy to improve communications in a company, but problems persist at the client and communications don’t improve. 
• A software developer fails to develop an app to the client’s specifications. 

In all of these examples, a client may sue for damages. And in every instance, a professional liability insurance policy should help protect you and your firm.

BGES Group, located in Larchmont, N.Y. are New York Construction Insurance Specialists that represent 50+ companies and all the BEST general & umbrella liability programs!  We offer every coverage you need including property, builders risk, inland marine, general liability, umbrella liability, auto, bid & performance bonds, workers’ compensation, N.Y.S. disability and group health.  We are extremely responsive, responsible, trustworthy, fast, minimize your insurance headaches, we don’t charge ridiculous policy or service fees and when you call, text or email, whatever time of day, even weekends, we are there to help YOU! 

BGES Group are Workers’ Compensation Insurance Specialists for Tri-State Business Owners: Unhappy with your rates, company, being cancelled, losses causing difficulty getting coverage, in the middle of an audit dispute, payrolls misclassified, whatever your issue, we can help!  We have special programs for: Auto Service, Contractors (especially New York), Limousine Services, Logistic Companies, Manufacturers, Recyclers, Truckers, we can help ANY tri-state business owner.  We are considered “Preferred Agents” for this one program that if we can get you into their pricing is excellent, offers long-term coverage stability and can cover multi-state operations. Program takes the hassle out of doing annual audits too.

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2024 – BGES Group

The average age of a construction worker is now in the 40s. Baby boomers — people born between 1946 and 1964 — represent 40% of the construction industry workforce, according to the Center for Construction Research and Training.

The nature of construction work presents many hazards for workers, many of which may not appear until late into a person’s career. Research suggests that long-term construction work impacts an individual’s musculoskeletal system. 

Also, any time an older worker suffers a workplace injury, they are more likely to be out of commission — and the road to recovery is longer. 

Because of the physical demands of the work, construction workers have to be healthier than the general population, but the same physical demands cause workers with injuries or illness to leave the industry.

Some 10% of construction workers do not return to work after an injury, and those with a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD), lung disease or other serious injury are more likely to retire on disability than workers with the same conditions in less physically demanding types of work.

Compared to office workers, construction workers are also less likely to have health insurance and they have an increased likelihood of developing a chronic disease as they age. Their odds also increase for developing lung disease, stroke, back problems and arthritis.

Risk factors for older workers

Lower-back injuries are a common injury experienced among construction workers. Also, as people age, they naturally lose strength and muscular endurance, which could have an effect on their ability to carry heavy loads. They may also lack the flexibility of younger workers and experience trouble working in awkward positions, making them more prone to a workplace injury.

Physical workload is an important determinant of work ability among construction workers, and in turn work ability is highly predictive of disability among such people. A construction worker between the ages of 45 and 54 with a low work ability index and severe low-back pain has a 40-fold increased probability of disability retirement compared to a construction worker without those risk factors.

And if they are injured, it can take someone older than 40 twice as long to recover from a typical injury.

A study of U.S. construction roofers found that workers over 55 had lower physical functioning, and were more likely to have both a chronic medical condition and an MSD.

The study found that older age, reduced physical function, and lack of job accommodation among these roofers were each predictive of early retirement.

What you can doThe study also found that construction roofers who had received job accommodation for an MSD or a medical condition were four times less likely to retire than workers with similar medical status but without accommodation.

Some form of job accommodation was offered to more than 30% of the workers in the study, and many of the accommodations were relatively simple, such as allowing more time to accomplish a task or changing the work schedule. But, few employers provided new tools or equipment.

Using the proper tools and work practices is important. Employers should also recognize the importance of job rotation among workers to help prevent repetitive-motion injuries.

Shifting focus from hazardous to safe work practices will help reduce injuries and keep older and more experienced employees safe and healthy on the job.

Common excuses Some of the common fallback excuses among baby boomer workers include:

• “I don’t need help!” — Some older workers won’t ask for help when lifting a heavy load that they think they could have easily hoisted when they were younger. This risks injury.
• “Deal with the pain!” — This old-school belief is that pain is part of the job, and that whining about it is for sissies. But if something hurts, the worker should stop and tell their supervisor.
• “I already know how!” — Many veterans are resistant to change in work processes or in using tools.
• “Get it done fast!” — A mentality of getting the job done quickly without following proper safety procedures, which can lead to injuries.

BGES Group, located in Larchmont, N.Y. are New York Construction Insurance Specialists that represent 50+ companies and all the BEST general & umbrella liability programs!  We offer every coverage you need including property, builders risk, inland marine, general liability, umbrella liability, auto, bid & performance bonds, workers’ compensation, N.Y.S. disability and group health.  We are extremely responsive, responsible, trustworthy, fast, minimize your insurance headaches, we don’t charge ridiculous policy or service fees and when you call, text or email, whatever time of day, even weekends, we are there to help YOU! 

BGES Group are Workers’ Compensation Insurance Specialists for Tri-State Business Owners: Unhappy with your rates, company, being cancelled, losses causing difficulty getting coverage, in the middle of an audit dispute, payrolls misclassified, whatever your issue, we can help!  We have special programs for: Auto Service, Contractors (especially New York), Limousine Services, Logistic Companies, Manufacturers, Recyclers, Truckers, we can help ANY tri-state business owner.  We are considered “Preferred Agents” for this one program that if we can get you into their pricing is excellent, offers long-term coverage stability and can cover multi-state operations. Program takes the hassle out of doing annual audits too.

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2024 – BGES Group

One of the proven ways to reduce the cost of a workers’ comp claim is to get the injured worker back on the job whenever it is safe to do so.

Preferably, employers should offer some type of modified work duty if they are still recovering from their injury and if that injury impedes them from performing the work they did before the accident.

If workers wait until they are completely healed before returning to work, the cost of a claim with $9,000 in medical expenses, for example, can quickly balloon to tens of thousands of dollars as they draw indemnity benefits to replace their lost wages from not working.

Not only that, but an extended absence can lead to employees becoming disaffected from the workplace and increasingly unmotivated to return.

Fortunately, a strong return-to-work program offers a path back into the workforce through light duty and transitional work. To keep costs in check, no workers’ comp program should be without such a program.

If you have an RTW program or are considering starting one, here are the top 12 things you should consider, courtesy of the Institute of WorkComp Professionals:

• Understand your state laws about returning an injured worker back to the job and the benefits they are entitled to after taking on transitional or light duty.
• Create an RTW program that outlines the steps the company will take to help a worker get back on the job as soon as it’s feasible after a workplace injury. Discuss transitional duty and light duty in the program documentation and distribute copies of it to your staff.
• Be creative in identifying temporary alternative jobs. Appoint an employee-management committee to create temporary alternative jobs. Injured employee jobs should be meaningful, not demeaning or demoralizing — and for sure should not be punitive.
• If you have an injured worker, visit various worksites or departments of your company to identify tasks that are similar to the employee’s existing job.
• Provide the treating physician with job descriptions for any temporary transitional duty and the employee’s regular work.
• Obtain medical restrictions from the medical provider and a release, so that you can put them in a job that will not strain or risk reinjuring them. Be proactive and prepared for the release. Don’t wait to have it in hand before you begin your process — a delay of even a few days costs you money.
• Encourage treating medical providers to approve temporary alternative duty for injured employees.
• Communicate regularly (at least once a week) with injured employees returning to work for a temporary alternative duty position. During this time, therapy and treatment may still continue.
• Inform the worker’s supervisors about the injured individual’s physical limitations from the injury and make sure they don’t push them too hard. Closely follow the restrictions outlined by the doctor, or you risk upsetting the worker, or worse, reinjuring them.
• Continue to pay the injured employee at their regular rate of pay. Consider doing so even if the employee is working partial hours. This will help you avoid paying lost-wage benefits and, in many states, reduce future settlements. It also builds employee morale.
• Keep the employee engaged by asking them on a weekly basis about the transitional duty, to identify obstacles or ascertain if they feel they can do more.
• Provide feedback to the physician regarding the progress the injured employee is making at the temporary alternative duty position, to make sure the physician is getting both sides of the story. It also conveys the concern you have for your injured employees.

The takeaway

If done correctly, an RTW program can help your worker get back on the job faster, help them feel like they are still part of the team, improve morale — and reduce your workers’ comp premiums.

BGES Group, located in Larchmont, N.Y. are New York Construction Insurance Specialists that represent 50+ companies and all the BEST general & umbrella liability programs!  We offer every coverage you need including property, builders risk, inland marine, general liability, umbrella liability, auto, bid & performance bonds, workers’ compensation, N.Y.S. disability and group health.  We are extremely responsive, responsible, trustworthy, fast, minimize your insurance headaches, we don’t charge ridiculous policy or service fees and when you call, text or email, whatever time of day, even weekends, we are there to help YOU! 

BGES Group are Workers’ Compensation Insurance Specialists for Tri-State Business Owners: Unhappy with your rates, company, being cancelled, losses causing difficulty getting coverage, in the middle of an audit dispute, payrolls misclassified, whatever your issue, we can help!  We have special programs for: Auto Service, Contractors (especially New York), Limousine Services, Logistic Companies, Manufacturers, Recyclers, Truckers, we can help ANY tri-state business owner.  We are considered “Preferred Agents” for this one program that if we can get you into their pricing is excellent, offers long-term coverage stability and can cover multi-state operations. Program takes the hassle out of doing annual audits too.

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2024 – BGES Group

We would all love to pass on a decent-sized legacy to our heirs. But too many estates are all but entirely consumed by the high costs of medical care, especially as we get older.

Yes, we have Medicare to cover the major medical expenses of those Americans over age 65. But many people fail to realize that long-term and nursing home care is not covered under Medicare.

Meanwhile, Medicaid can help with basic expenses — but generally only after you have impoverished yourself by spending your assets down to less than $2,000, depending on your state.

Until then, you’re going to have to either fund long-term care costs out of your own savings and pension income, or have long-term care insurance in place.

Consider these sobering statistics:

• One in three individuals who buy a long-term care policy at age 60 with a 90-day elimination period (benefits kick in after 90 days of chronic disability) will need those benefits before they die.
• Half of everyone over 60 will have a need for nursing home/custodial care at some point.
• The average woman who needs long term care spends 2.6 years in a facility. The average man spends 2.3 years.
• Ten percent of those who enter a nursing home will stay there five years or more.

The cost of long-term care

The median rate for a semi-private room in a nursing home was $8,669 per month in 2023 — $104,000 per year — according to the latest “Cost of Care Study” by Genworth. The median price of an assisted living facility was $5,350 per month, or $64,200 per year.

That’s easily enough to consume most or all of a private pension, and/or your Social Security income — leaving you and your family little or nothing left over in retirement for living expenses and savings of your own.

If you don’t have a lot of income coming in, it’s also enough to quickly eat away at most peoples’ retirement savings nest eggs.

Medicaid requirements have teeth

If you have assets like a home, and you receive Medicaid benefits, the state may place a lien on your home. When you pass away, the state may seize your home out from under your heirs and sell it to recover any Medicaid benefits that were paid to you, under a state Medicaid Recovery Program.

What you can do

Get long-term care insurance in place, if you qualify. Even a small amount of coverage can make a big financial difference for you and your family, should you ever have a claim.

Consider the Long-Term Care Partnership Program. If your state participates in this program, purchasing a qualified long-term care insurance plan may help you shelter a certain amount of your estate from any Medicaid recovery program.

That is, if you purchase $250,000 of long-term care protection, you may be able to exempt that amount from Medicaid collectors, thereby ensuring that you will be able to pass your family home and/or other assets on to heirs.

BGES Group, located in Larchmont, N.Y. are New York Construction Insurance Specialists that represent 50+ companies and all the BEST general & umbrella liability programs!  We offer every coverage you need including property, builders risk, inland marine, general liability, umbrella liability, auto, bid & performance bonds, workers’ compensation, N.Y.S. disability and group health.  We are extremely responsive, responsible, trustworthy, fast, minimize your insurance headaches, we don’t charge ridiculous policy or service fees and when you call, text or email, whatever time of day, even weekends, we are there to help YOU! 

BGES Group are Workers’ Compensation Insurance Specialists for Tri-State Business Owners: Unhappy with your rates, company, being cancelled, losses causing difficulty getting coverage, in the middle of an audit dispute, payrolls misclassified, whatever your issue, we can help!  We have special programs for: Auto Service, Contractors (especially New York), Limousine Services, Logistic Companies, Manufacturers, Recyclers, Truckers, we can help ANY tri-state business owner.  We are considered “Preferred Agents” for this one program that if we can get you into their pricing is excellent, offers long-term coverage stability and can cover multi-state operations. Program takes the hassle out of doing annual audits too.

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2024 – BGES Group

Are you a New York business owner looking for new Workers’ Compensation insurance? 

BGES Group offers programs for:

• Auto services
• Contractors including asbestos, demolition and roofers
• Limousine services
• Manufactures
• Moving and storage agents
• Truckers
• We can help any company

BGES Group prides ourselves on our ability to obtain competitive rates for clients while providing coverage that is tailored to their specific needs.  For example, we have a program that’s been around for 24 years that can cover a lot of New York contractors from low risk such as an electrician and plumber to high risk such as interior demolition and roofer. Regardless of the industry you are in, we can find you a policy.

Tell us your concerns.  Whether they’re finding lower rates or replacing coverage, we have 40+ insurance companies to market your account too. 

By the way, when you call we answer the phone. No more dealing with answering systems, being placed on hold, with people who are nice but don’t know much about insurance.  Our service is fantastic…go read our “Google Reviews” to see what others think.  Call or text Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 day or evening, whenever it’s most convenient for you!

We offer programs that:

1. Require just a $200 deposit to bind coverage.
2. Where you go on line every month and report payroll and pay based on past month’s payroll.  When payrolls are less you pay less, when they are more you pay more.
3. Offer policies where you pay in monthly installments.
4. Offer payroll/workers’ compensation programs that can insure contractors, limousine services, movers, truckers just about any type company.
5. Offer payroll, workers’ compensation and even group health coverage.
6. Offer coverage for business owners who have had a run of bad luck loss wise.  We’ve been able to obtain coverage for accounts that have had $1 million plus in losses at competitive rates.
7. Offer state and assigned risk plans that ensure no business is left without coverage.
8. Tell us what you are looking for and we can go and get it for you.

To learn more about how we can help you secure the right workers’ compensation policy for your business, contact Gary Wallach today. You can reach him by calling or texting 914-806-5853, or by emailing bgesgroup@gmail.com.

BGES Group, located in Larchmont, N.Y. are New York Construction Insurance Specialists that represent 50+ companies and all the BEST general & umbrella liability programs!  We offer every coverage you need including property, builders risk, inland marine, general liability, umbrella liability, auto, bid & performance bonds, workers’ compensation, N.Y.S. disability and group health.  We are extremely responsive, responsible, trustworthy, fast, minimize your insurance headaches, we don’t charge ridiculous policy or service fees and when you call, text or email, whatever time of day, even weekends, we are there to help YOU! 

BGES Group are Workers’ Compensation Insurance Specialists for Tri-State Business Owners: Unhappy with your rates, company, being cancelled, losses causing difficulty getting coverage, in the middle of an audit dispute, payrolls misclassified, whatever your issue, we can help!  We have special programs for: Auto Service, Contractors (especially New York), Limousine Services, Logistic Companies, Manufacturers, Recyclers, Truckers, we can help ANY tri-state business owner.  We are considered “Preferred Agents” for this one program that if we can get you into their pricing is excellent, offers long-term coverage stability and can cover multi-state operations. Program takes the hassle out of doing annual audits too.

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2024 – BGES Group

The president of an Orange County, California cleaning company was convicted and sentenced recently for under-reporting his payroll by more than $8 million, which brought a premium loss of almost $900,000. He plead guilty to all of the felony charges, which were aggravated white-collar sentencing enhancement, three counts of misrepresentation of facts to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance program and six counts of misrepresentation of facts to the State Compensation Insurance Fund. In addition to the restitution fee of almost $900,000 and a $250,000 fine, the business owner received a stayed five-year state prison sentence pending the successful completion of a 10-year probation period.

California’s state law requires all employers to pay workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. The EDD and the Workers’ Compensation Insurance program both require records to be submitted ever year to ensure payroll taxes are paid. A specific formula is used to calculate the workers’ compensation insurance rates. A company’s injury claims history, the type of employees hired and the number of people in the workforce determine an employer’s rate. Premium insurance fraud occurs when a company deliberately falsifies loss history, payroll numbers, employee numbers or the type of duties the workers perform to pay less for insurance. In many cases, employers try to hide their workers under other uninsured businesses. If a worker under that entity is injured, he or she will be transferred to the insured entity.

Insurance companies are then liable for the injured workers. Illegally misrepresenting workforce facts allows employers to pay lower premiums or avoid buying insurance coverage. This puts competitors at a major disadvantage by forcing them to work against a company with much lower but fraudulent operating costs. When this happens, the cost of insurance goes up for legitimate companies due to fraud. In addition to this, employees who are injured may not be able to collect the workers’ compensation funds they need to recover from work-related injuries.

The convicted company president referenced at the beginning of this article had been in business since 1998. His company distributed and manufactured commercial and household cleaning products to sell throughout the United States. The business owner received the SCIF policy in 2001, but he did not report the majority of his workforce, which he leased from one of the multiple leasing companies he owned. In 2008, the owner insured those leasing companies but did not disclose his policy to SCIF. From that time until 2010, he under-reported his payroll. After one of the employees working for one of the labor leasing companies filed a workers’ compensation claim, SCIF started investigating. While the injured worker was employed by a leasing company, the individual also worked at the cleaning product company. SCIF reported the incident to the Bureau of Investigation of the Orange County District Attorney. The DA then took over investigating the case and filing charges.

BGES Group, located in Larchmont, N.Y. are New York Construction Insurance Specialists that represent 50+ companies and all the BEST general & umbrella liability programs!  We offer every coverage you need including property, builders risk, inland marine, general liability, umbrella liability, auto, bid & performance bonds, workers’ compensation, N.Y.S. disability and group health.  We are extremely responsive, responsible, trustworthy, fast, minimize your insurance headaches, we don’t charge ridiculous policy or service fees and when you call, text or email, whatever time of day, even weekends, we are there to help YOU! 

BGES Group are Workers’ Compensation Insurance Specialists for Tri-State Business Owners: Unhappy with your rates, company, being cancelled, losses causing difficulty getting coverage, in the middle of an audit dispute, payrolls misclassified, whatever your issue, we can help!  We have special programs for: Auto Service, Contractors (especially New York), Limousine Services, Logistic Companies, Manufacturers, Recyclers, Truckers, we can help ANY tri-state business owner.  We are considered “Preferred Agents” for this one program that if we can get you into their pricing is excellent, offers long-term coverage stability and can cover multi-state operations. Program takes the hassle out of doing annual audits too.

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2024 – BGES Group

Some business owners think they can hide or under-report payroll data as a way to save money on taxes and workers’ compensation premiums. There are several different ways they can hide payroll data, but it is still a crime that very few prosecutors will turn down. Although this is done to save money, the price of self defense in criminal court and the repercussions of having a criminal record are both costly. In addition to this, the risk of ending a business career can compromise a person’s long-term income. The following is a case where a business lost about $100,000 by trying to dodge workers’ comp premium obligations.

The owner of a building company was convicted of workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud for not reporting some of his employees to his insurer or the Employment Development Department. The owner’s daughter was convicted of misdemeanor insurance fraud. Another member of the owner’s family who worked there was convicted of felony insurance fraud.

Experts say fraud is an enterprise that brings in billions of dollars, but it provides artificial inflation costs to insurance companies and consumers. In a collaborative effort by the local district attorney’s office and the Department of Insurance, the investigation on the business owner started after an employee was injured. The owner paid his workers in cash in order to avoid paying insurance premiums. However, the investigators found evidence that all three of the convicted parties had worked together to convince workers to take cash payments.

The employee who was injured required surgery, but the business owner tried to dispute the worker’s claim. Instead, the owner offered the injured worker a disability application form for state assistance, and he instructed the worker to claim the injury occurred at home. The company was ordered to pay more than $45,000 in premium restitution, about $30,000 in EDD back taxes and more than $35,000 in restitution to the injured worker.

It is not easy to hide payroll information, and employees will be vocal if they are injured. In addition to this, there are other ways to track this type of fraud. If an employee is injured, employers should remember that any under-the-table agreements will likely be exposed. Injured employees must look out for themselves and their families. Many other cases are worse. Employees may accumulate higher bills for hospital stays and rehabilitative services. The cost of paying their bills could be much higher than $100,000, and the cost of business disruptions and legal fees would run into the hundreds of thousands. Recovering from an incident such as this is also difficult, and most business owners have to start over from scratch. In comparison with the cost of such a mess, the cost of workers’ compensation insurance premiums is minimal. Every employer should remember that it is not worth the risk.

BGES Group, located in Larchmont, N.Y. are New York Construction Insurance Specialists that represent 50+ companies and all the BEST general & umbrella liability programs!  We offer every coverage you need including property, builders risk, inland marine, general liability, umbrella liability, auto, bid & performance bonds, workers’ compensation, N.Y.S. disability and group health.  We are extremely responsive, responsible, trustworthy, fast, minimize your insurance headaches, we don’t charge ridiculous policy or service fees and when you call, text or email, whatever time of day, even weekends, we are there to help YOU! 

BGES Group are Workers’ Compensation Insurance Specialists for Tri-State Business Owners: Unhappy with your rates, company, being cancelled, losses causing difficulty getting coverage, in the middle of an audit dispute, payrolls misclassified, whatever your issue, we can help!  We have special programs for: Auto Service, Contractors (especially New York), Limousine Services, Logistic Companies, Manufacturers, Recyclers, Truckers, we can help ANY tri-state business owner.  We are considered “Preferred Agents” for this one program that if we can get you into their pricing is excellent, offers long-term coverage stability and can cover multi-state operations. Program takes the hassle out of doing annual audits too.

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2024 – BGES Group

Many people wonder why it is necessary to use experience rating to predict future losses if workers’ compensation rates are designed for this purpose. Experience rating can benefit employers. The prospects of both bad credits and debits are implicit in the majority of risk-specific programs dealing with experience rating. Since it gives an employer some influence in how much the final premium will be, this gives an incentive for them to develop their loss prevention strategies. It is also good for them to form incentives that encourage injured employees to return to work as soon as they are able. When this happens, experience rating can be beneficial to employers by increasing occupational safety and health.

Experience rating shows a refinement in processes of premium determination. It creates a net premium cost for employers, which means their costs will be appropriate for the provided coverage. Experience rating shares or spreads the cost of a loss with all group members who are likely to go through similar losses. Although the probability and cost of injuries for an entire group as a whole may not be accurately predictable, it is not possible to decide which member of the group will ultimately be responsible for costs.

This is why there is insurance. If it were possible or easy to predict, group members who do not experience loss would not have any incentive to purchase coverage. Meanwhile, the premium charge for members experiencing losses would need to include the loss costs. Serious injuries to individuals are usually rare, but the totals can be minor amounts or reach well into the millions. For workers’ compensation, the easiest rating method is manual rating. With this system, employers are categorized according to business classifications or operations. Group losses are estimated and then added as an average.

Employers are assigned to specific classifications to make sure the rates they receive are reflective of the costs all similar employers have. While each classification comes with similar risks, individual ones are different in some ways. However, experience rating is designed to reflect individual differences. Insurance providers would be able to look for employers with lower costs and avoid ones with higher costs if the rating system were only manual. The system needs to be refined to avoid such a scenario, and experience rating falls under that category.

With workers’ compensation experience rating, individual employers’ loss and payroll data are analyzed over time. The most recent three years of data is reviewed against similar groups’ risks to determine the experience modification. An employer that has better experience ratings will be given credits, but those with less will be given debit ratings.

BGES Group, located in Larchmont, N.Y. are New York Construction Insurance Specialists that represent 50+ companies and all the BEST general & umbrella liability programs!  We offer every coverage you need including property, builders risk, inland marine, general liability, umbrella liability, auto, bid & performance bonds, workers’ compensation, N.Y.S. disability and group health.  We are extremely responsive, responsible, trustworthy, fast, minimize your insurance headaches, we don’t charge ridiculous policy or service fees and when you call, text or email, whatever time of day, even weekends, we are there to help YOU! 

BGES Group are Workers’ Compensation Insurance Specialists for Tri-State Business Owners: Unhappy with your rates, company, being cancelled, losses causing difficulty getting coverage, in the middle of an audit dispute, payrolls misclassified, whatever your issue, we can help!  We have special programs for: Auto Service, Contractors (especially New York), Limousine Services, Logistic Companies, Manufacturers, Recyclers, Truckers, we can help ANY tri-state business owner.  We are considered “Preferred Agents” for this one program that if we can get you into their pricing is excellent, offers long-term coverage stability and can cover multi-state operations. Program takes the hassle out of doing annual audits too.

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2024 – BGES Group

Most business owners and executives understand the value of workers compensation insurance not just to protect the worker, but to protect the company as well. Fewer, however, are aware of the mechanics of how premiums are arrived at, and how their own company’s safety track record figures into their rating.  Understanding the process, however, may well enable you to qualify for lower premiums down the road, saving your business money and making you more competitive.

Industry underwriters set workers compensation premiums using a process similar to how most companies price group health insurance: They look at the actual claims experience for similar workers in your area, and if there is a history of claims, at your company specifically. Where there is insufficient local claims experience to look at, underwriters turn to the National Council on Compensation Insurance, a clearing house of workers injury and compensation data.

Generally, underwriters will take your payroll and multiply it by an average claim factor for that type of worker. This produces a baseline average of the total number of expected claims, which they subdivide as claims per $100,000 of payroll, claims per year, or claims per time unit. The frequency of claims is considered to be a close proxy for the safety culture of the individual business. They then account for the average severity of claims for that type of worker in your industry and combine the two to arrive at a baseline prediction for expected losses.

Underwriters must then try to assess your business and answer the following question: Given the policies and procedures in place at your business and your claims history, is your company likely to produce losses that are higher than the industry baseline or lower?

Over time, underwriters have discovered that the most likely future claims predictor is a past history of claims at your company. Therefore, to save money on workers compensation premiums, it behooves the company to invest aggressively in preserving the safety of the work environment, both in terms of resources and management focus.

Your workers compensation agent and underwriting team will assign your company an insurance rating, with 1 deemed equal to the average claims experience in your industry for the area.

Any rating higher than 1 indicates a worse-than-average risk for workers compensation claims. If your rating comes out higher than 1, you may be able to qualify for lower rates in future years by reviewing your safety program and the types of losses your company has incurred. Identify any patterns and refcurring themes. You may benefit from bringing in a risk management consultant for an outside set of eyeballs. Some investment in equipment or improved training may be needed, or you may need to be more vigilant for workers compensation fraud in a few cases.

Best Practices

In the long run, your safety record is a reflection of your overall safety culture. That’s not something limited to the rank and file worker and shop foremen, though. The most important link in the safety culture chain is at the top.

• Invest in training your workers in all aspects of safety relevant for their jobs.
• Appoint a senior manager with clout to monitor your safety and OSHA compliance, and empower him or her to enforce it throughout the company.
• Empower any worker to halt work activities if he or she becomes aware of an unsafe work condition, until that condition can be corrected.

Everyone is part of your workplace safety culture – but senior management is the most important link in the chain, because management sets the tone throughout the organization.

BGES Group, located in Larchmont, N.Y. are New York Construction Insurance Specialists that represent 50+ companies and all the BEST general & umbrella liability programs!  We offer every coverage you need including property, builders risk, inland marine, general liability, umbrella liability, auto, bid & performance bonds, workers’ compensation, N.Y.S. disability and group health.  We are extremely responsive, responsible, trustworthy, fast, minimize your insurance headaches, we don’t charge ridiculous policy or service fees and when you call, text or email, whatever time of day, even weekends, we are there to help YOU! 

BGES Group are Workers’ Compensation Insurance Specialists for Tri-State Business Owners: Unhappy with your rates, company, being cancelled, losses causing difficulty getting coverage, in the middle of an audit dispute, payrolls misclassified, whatever your issue, we can help!  We have special programs for: Auto Service, Contractors (especially New York), Limousine Services, Logistic Companies, Manufacturers, Recyclers, Truckers, we can help ANY tri-state business owner.  We are considered “Preferred Agents” for this one program that if we can get you into their pricing is excellent, offers long-term coverage stability and can cover multi-state operations. Program takes the hassle out of doing annual audits too.

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2024 – BGES Group

Simply offering disability insurance or accident insurance or both can cause workers compensation claims to decline by as much as 50 percent.

That’s the conclusion of a recent study of over six hundred employers across a cross section of sizes and industries. The study also found that more than four employees in ten reported material improvements in workers compensation claims.

The survey was conducted in November 2013 by Lieberman Research World Wide and commissioned by AFLAC, which is a prominent carrier of workplace insurance and benefits plans.

For the most part, the magnitude of declines in workers compensation claims experienced by companies who rolled out voluntary disability and/or accident insurance was significant:

• Of employers who offered accident insurance, 14 percent of all employers reported declines of 50 percent or more. Another 17 percent of employers reported workers comp claims declines of 25 to 49 percent.
• Of employees who offered access to voluntary disability insurance, 15 percent of all employers reported declines of 50 percent or more, while an additional 15 percent reported declines of 25 to 49 percent. In both cases the results were fairly consistent regardless of the size of the employer

About Voluntary Benefits

Voluntary benefits are benefits the employer offers to strengthen the employers’ value position, at little or no cost to the employer. Most or all premiums, fees and other costs are borne by employees themselves, via payroll deduction. The employer simply deducts premiums and other costs from employee salaries and forwards them to the insurer or benefits provider.

Common voluntary benefits programs include:

• Short-term disability
• Long-term disability
• Accident insurance or Accidental Death and Dismemberment
• Critical illness insurance
• Life insurance
• Long-term care insurance
• Legal and identity theft plans
• Financial counseling
• Dental and Vision Plans

                        …And many more.

A 2013 survey by Towers Watson indicates that voluntary benefits are on the increase, and are projected to increase in importance as part of company’s overall benefits strategy will grow by 27 percent over the next five years.

The potential benefits to employers are many. Employers offer voluntary benefits for these reasons:

• Improve employee satisfaction and loyalty
• Differentiate themselves from other employers to attract new talent
• Retain talent
• Reduce presenteeism and workers compensation claims
• Save on payroll taxes (with qualifying Section 125 ‘cafeteria’ plans)
•  

Again, employees can offer voluntary benefits at little or no cost to themselves. But when an employee becomes disabled, is diagnosed with cancer or another insured critical illness, or has another crisis that can be mitigated with a benefit provided under a voluntary benefits program, that benefit can mean the world.

BGES Group, located in Larchmont, N.Y. are New York Construction Insurance Specialists that represent 50+ companies and all the BEST general & umbrella liability programs!  We offer every coverage you need including property, builders risk, inland marine, general liability, umbrella liability, auto, bid & performance bonds, workers’ compensation, N.Y.S. disability and group health.  We are extremely responsive, responsible, trustworthy, fast, minimize your insurance headaches, we don’t charge ridiculous policy or service fees and when you call, text or email, whatever time of day, even weekends, we are there to help YOU! 

BGES Group are Workers’ Compensation Insurance Specialists for Tri-State Business Owners: Unhappy with your rates, company, being cancelled, losses causing difficulty getting coverage, in the middle of an audit dispute, payrolls misclassified, whatever your issue, we can help!  We have special programs for: Auto Service, Contractors (especially New York), Limousine Services, Logistic Companies, Manufacturers, Recyclers, Truckers, we can help ANY tri-state business owner.  We are considered “Preferred Agents” for this one program that if we can get you into their pricing is excellent, offers long-term coverage stability and can cover multi-state operations. Program takes the hassle out of doing annual audits too.

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2024 – BGES Group