If your business isn’t enrolled in a savings program for the coming 2024-2025 BWC policy year, you’ll want to get the ball rolling ASAP! 

Two of the most highly-favored programs are Group Experience Rating (usually called Group Rating, or just “Group), and Group Retrospective Rating (often referred to as Group Retro or Retro). They’re both great programs that can boast savings over 50% for some policyholders, and the difference between them is fairly simple. 

• Group Rating is like a coupon – you receive the discount upfront, and pay lower premiums throughout the year. The maximum discount is 53% off of BWC’s base rates, which only applies to policies with zero or very few losses in their experience period. 
• Group Retrospective is more like a mail-in rebate. You pay the sticker price to BWC for premiums, and are rebated following the end of that policy year based on how your pool performed. Refunds can total close to 50% under the most optimal conditions. 

Something to keep in mind: TPAs can advertise any Group Retro refund up to and including 63%, even if their pools have never achieved that. A maximum refund is uncommon, and nearly unheard of over the last couple of years due to eroding refunds due to changes within BWC. Recent changes have us hopeful that the program will begin yielding better refunds, but even still - a 63% refund in Group Retro is only achieved if there were no losses within that group. 

Spooner is accepting enrollments for Group Rating through November 10, 2023 and Group Retro through January 26, 2024. If you’re an existing Spooner Group Rating client, you can renew online here, or reach out to your client services rep. For businesses interested in seeing what Spooner has to offer, complete this form (no later than ten days before the enrollment deadline), and we’d be happy to talk with you about the short and long game of keeping premiums low. 

Both Group Rating and Group Retro are valuable programs, and if a policy is eligible for both – your TPA should break down the estimated savings difference, in dollars. If neither of these programs appeal to you or solve your issue of high premiums or a high EMR, it may be a great time to look into self-insured options like a PEO. SuretyHR is a PEO that operates within the Spooner Risk Control family of companies, and we’d be happy to discuss those alternative options with you further.