The premium paid for a workers' compensation policy is
based off of your business' employee payroll. There are
a few steps in calculating the final premium:
1. First, the manual
premium is calculated by multiplying the total remuneration
(in $100 units) in each classification code by the current
rate established by the state government for that class
code. Any policy endorsements, such as waivers
of subrogation, will be added to the manual premium.
If there is a change in policy
limits, then this effect in the premium is also added.
2. After the manual premium is computated, it is then mulitiplied
by the experience
modification rate. This has a tremendous effect on the
overall workers' compensation premium and it is important
for business owners to understand their experience modifier
and keep it as low as possible.
3. There are then three premium
credits available to Florida businesses that are deducted
from the current premium to get the modified premium for
the policy. These three credits are the Safety Credit, the
Drug Free Credit, and the FCCPAP.
4. There are three other adjustments made to the premium.
These are the Premium
Discount, Expense
Constant ($200 in Florida), and the fee for terrorism.
After these three adjustments have been made to the premium,
the remaining figure is known as the "Total Estimated
Annual Premium". This is the premium amount that is
actually billed to the employer throughout the policy year.
5. Each workers' compensation insurance policy will be
audited
to determine the actual payroll during the policy period
and the final adjustments will be made to the premium. If
the employer has a higher remuneration than anticipated
at the beginning of the year, then there will be an increase
in the premium during the audit. It is important as a business
to keep track of any payroll changes during the policy year
to avoid this situation.
6. Some insurance carriers offer incentives to attract
larger employers and keep claims down during the policy
year, such as dividend plans, retrospective plans, and retention
dividend plans. These are designed to return premium to
employers that have controlled their losses during the policy
period.