Key terms
This glossary includes definitions of the standard terms from the sufficiency, quarterly and annual reports.
Administration and other expenses (before allocation to claim costs)- The total expenses necessary to support our various business activities before we consider the costs directly related to administering claims.
Appeals total allowance rate- The percentage of resolved appeals (by issue appealed) that are allowed, in full or in part. This includes appeal resolutions for Schedule 1 and 2.
Claim payments- The benefit amount paid to, or on behalf of, people who become injured or ill at work.
Average composite duration- The average number of days compensated for lost-time claims (prior to lock-in) in the reporting period.
Core earnings- The total comprehensive income, excluding investment-related items, changes in actuarial valuation or any change that is considered exceptional and material in nature.
Employee Benefit Plans- Refers to the benefit plans offered for our employees. This includes pension and other benefit plans such as life insurance, dental and extended health coverage.
Full funding- Represents the level of funding sufficiency that provides a high level of confidence that the Sufficiency Ratio will not fall below 100 per cent.
Going concern valuation- Refers to the valuation performed using assumptions and methods assuming the WSIB will continue indefinitely.
Invested assets- This is a combination of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, investment funds and cash for investment purposes.
Locked-in claim- Claims, with an injury/illness date on or after January 1, 1998, where a final review of the loss of earnings benefit at 72 months post injury/illness has been completed and we will continue to pay the benefit to age 65, with few exceptions.
Lost-time claim- A lost time claim is created when a person suffers a work-related injury/illness which results in:
- being off work past the day of accident;
- loss of wages/earnings; or
- a permanent disability/impairment.
Lost-time injury/illness rate (Schedule 1)- The year-to-date number of allowed lost-time injury and illness claims per 100 Full-Time Equivalents (FTE) for the year specified. The calculation uses derived FTE, which is based on a business’s insurable earnings and average hourly wages defined by the WSIB.
Net assets attributable to WSIB stakeholders- This is the amount by which our total assets are higher than our total liabilities. This excludes non-controlling interests.
Net assets on a Sufficiency Ratio basis-This is the amount by which the value of our total assets are more than that of our total liabilities on a going concern basis. This excludes non-controlling interest.
No-lost-time claim- A no-lost-time claim results from a work-related injury where the person does not lose time from work, other than on the day of accident, but requires health care. We pay for the health care costs resulting from the injury.
Non-controlling interests- This refers to our Employees’ Pension Plan and other pieces of assets that we do not own.
Service satisfaction, businesses- This metric is based on a single question from our quarterly customer satisfaction survey that is conducted by a third-party research firm. Respondents are asked to rate their satisfaction using a five-point rating scale that goes from very dissatisfied to very satisfied. The result shows the percentage of registered business respondents who said they were somewhat or very satisfied with their overall WSIB experience. Somewhat or very satisfied correspond to four and five on the rating scale respectively.
Service satisfaction, people with work-related injuries or illnesses-This metric is based on a single question from our quarterly customer satisfaction survey that is conducted by a third-party research firm. Respondents are asked to rate their satisfaction using a five-point rating scale that goes from very dissatisfied to very satisfied. The result shows the percentage of respondents who have/had work-related injuries or illnesses who said they were somewhat or very satisfied with their overall WSIB experience. Somewhat or very satisfied correspond to four and five on the rating scale respectively.
Percentage employed after completing work transition plan- The percentage of people completing a work transition plan (through our work transition program) who go on to return to work with either their existing or a new employer. This also includes cases that have been closed.
Percentage of people with a permanent impairment- The percentage of people with lost-time claims receiving the non-economic loss (NEL) award. This is calculated by injury year, and the data has a three-year lag.
Premiums- This includes premiums collected from Schedule 1 businesses, administration fees collected from Schedule 2 businesses, interests and penalties, bad debt and other income.
Return to work at 100 per cent of pre-injury earnings within 12 months- The percentage of people with lost-time claims who have returned to work with no wage loss within 12 months of their injury date. Data is matured three months, meaning that results may continue to be revised for three months after the quarter or year has closed as new information about the claims comes in.
Sufficiency Ratio- An objective measure that tracks our progress toward sustainable funding. The Sufficiency Ratio is calculated by considering our assets, divided by liabilities calculated on a going concern basis (this is an accounting basis that uses long-term assumptions). It is expressed as a percentage.
Sustainable engagement- This is a metric based on our annual employee experience survey. Sustainable engagement is a composite measure based on nine questions from the survey covering the extent to which employees feel engaged, enabled and energized.
Unfunded liability (UFL) - This is the amount by which our total assets are lower than our total liabilities. The UFL excludes non-controlling interests.
Unfunded liability on a Sufficiency Ratio basis- This is the amount by which the value of our total assets are less than that of our total liabilities on a going concern basis. This excludes non- controlling interests.