TV Campaign Promotes Local Buying and Free Enterprise

Our latest TV campaign is hitting the airwaves as we speak.  It features local business people promoting the benefits of buying locally and celebrating the American tradition of free enterprise.  You can watch the videos (and our previous video campaigns) here.  Thanks to WHIZ TV for their support and cooperation, and thanks to the participating companies for making these TV announcements possible.

Options Exist to Reduce Workers Comp Costs

The cost of workers compensation coverage is commonly cited as a major burden when we do surveys of area businesses and talk to members.  But you do have some savings options available to you and now is the time to explore those. Please read on for more about the Chamber's workers comp program.

 

You can save significantly on your workers' compensation premium by joining the Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce workers' compensation program administered by CareWorks Consultants, Inc. (CCI).

  

We partner with CareWorks Consultants to deliver the most significant cost savings to our members. CareWorks Consultants embraces a results-oriented approach that fully integrates safety prevention and risk control with aggressive claims management to deliver a significant return on investment. The Chamber and CareWorks Consultants can analyze your company to determine the BEST workers' compensation premium-saving program for you.

• Group Rating - CCI's group rating program is the only plan endorsed by the Chamber.In 2012 the program's estimated return on investment averaged 533%. (see Safety Council information below, too.)
• Group Retrospective Rating - This program offers premium savings projected as high as 83% and can be a great alternative for companies unable to qualify for traditional group experience rating. (see Safety Council information below, too.)
• Deductible Program - This program offers discounts (up to 77%) on premium rates in exchange for accepting a specified deductible amount.
• 100% EM Cap -Companies becoming penalty rated for the upcoming policy year can have increases to their Experience Modifier (EM) limited, or capped, at 100%, thereby limiting rate and premium increases.
• Other Alternative Rating & Discount Programs -Drug-Free Safety Program, One Claim Program, Safety Council, Salary Continuation, and others.
• Self Insurance - Companies pay compensation and medical costs directly for work-related injuries avoiding escalating reserves and premiums charged by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. CareWorks Consultants serves more Ohio self-insured employers than any other third party administrator.

As a result of their best-in-class service, CareWorks Consultants has consistently maintained a 97% retention rate - one of the highest in the industry. Put their team to work for you. For a no-cost, no-obligation program analysis, please click here and complete the form. You may also contact CareWorks Consultants' Jason Bainum, toll-free, at 1-800-837-3200, ext. 7114, jason.bainum@ccitpa.com.   

ALSO, you can save on workers comp by participating in the Safety Council program.  More than 60 companies participate and save each year.  The deadline to join is this month - July 31 - so be sure to submit your enrollment form NOW.  Make note: Participants in Group Rating and Group Retrospective can now earn half the rebate for Safety Council too, so don't assume you are not eligible for both discounts - you now are!

Earn a Rebate On Workers Comp

NOW is the time to enroll in the local Safety Council program and earn a rebate from the state on your workers compensation premiums. The deadline to enroll is July 31, so read on about the program, and get your application form in this month. 

Safety Council is a program of the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Division of Safety & Hygiene. Its purpose is to promote workplace safety through education, information and training, and to enable employers to earn a rebate on their workers comp premium in the process. In other words, the Ohio BWC believes that prevention of workplace safety and health issues is a priority and that employers who make an effort to maintain safe workplaces should be rewarded. The result for employers is a program that is an effective way to reduce workers comp premiums.

The rebate is earned by fulfilling specific annual requirements, which are specified here. The program offers employers two separate 2% discounts, or a total possible savings of 4%. The first is a 2% premium rebate for completing the program eligibility requirements, and the second is 2% performance bonus for employers who reduce their frequency or severity of claims by 10 percent or more below the previous year's frequency or severity, or employers who maintain both frequency and severity at zero. Rebate payments are sent by the Ohio BWC to employers who earn the rebate in the last quarter of each calendar year.

An enrollment form and more information are available at this section of the Chamber website.

Webinar on Health Care Law This Week

On July 11 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., the Ohio Chamber's HR Academy will present a webinar on the Affordable Care Act and the recent Supreme Court ruling. HR Academy webinars are $55 for Ohio Chamber members and $110 for nonmembers. HOWEVER, the Ohio Chamber has agreed to extend the $55 Ohio Chamber member rate to our members as well.

The full title of this webinar is Not All Employers Are Created Equal, and Some May Not Remain Equal: Impact of the Affordable Care Act and the Recent Supreme Court Ruling on Different Employing Organizations. This webinar is being presented by John McGowan Jr., Jennifer Mills and Susan Whittaker Hughes of Baker Hostetler. This course has been approved for CLE credits through the Ohio Supreme Court and has been approved for Human Resource Certification Institute recertification credits.

To watch the webinar you will need to register on the Ohio Chamber website. To qualify for the Ohio Chamber member discount you will need to enter the discount code which is: Employers.

If you have any questions, please email Michelle Donovan at the Ohio Chamber or call her at 614-228-4201. To register, click here.