The Ohio BWC recently proposed an overall decrease in the statewide base rates of 10% for private employers in the policy year beginning July 1, 2022.  This is projected to reduce premium collections by approximately $106 million, based on projected payroll levels of $140 billion.  These “rate reduction” proposals get a lot of press, but what BWC doesn’t promote is that not all base rates will be reduced if this is approved. Rates for certain manual codes will actually be increasing in several industries. The most impacted industries will be construction, manufacturing, transportation and agriculture – but that’s just naming a few. 

When we meet with employers to review our in-depth analysis of their workers’ comp policy, we often find that they don’t know how their premiums are calculated. Base rates fluctuating doesn’t mean much if you don’t understand how it impacts your premiums – and subsequently, your bottom line. Every type of work is assigned a manual code, and each of those codes is assigned a monetary value (base rate) that correlates with how risky the work is. Every hundred dollars of payroll under each code is multiplied by that rate. If your policy is penalty rated, that acts as as additional multiplier. Here’s an example:

If you’d like a free analysis of how these changes will impact your company’s premiums, or if you’re looking for an alternative to Ohio BWC, reach out to our team at 440-249-5260 ext. 153, or start by completing an authorization for us to provide this analysis here. We’re here to help Ohio employers understand how these changes could affect their business.