New Experimental Experience Rating (NEER) Program

Our new premium rate-setting model is replacing existing experience rating programs. Businesses will receive their final NEER and CAD-7 statements in the fall of 2020. See more information about the changes to our experience rating programs.

NEER is an experience rating program that may apply to firms that:

• Have total yearly premiums of $25,000 or more, and
• Operate in at least one non-construction rate group (Construction rate groups are covered by the CAD-7 Program).

NEER is a rate-group based program, so if your firm does business in multiple non-construction rate groups then you will see a NEER calculation for each one.

In the NEER program, your firm can earn either lump sum refunds or surcharges based on your individual accident performance. For example, if you have a good accident cost record in a particular rate group, then your firm will be refunded a portion of the premium paid for that rate group.

Program details

The NEER program compares the “expected cost” of claims for your firm to the actual “NEER cost,” which is made up of:

• The total benefits paid to date,
• The projected future cost of claims over their expected lifetime , and
• An administrative cost.

NOTE: Projected future costs are not calculated for claims in which the amount of Loss of Earnings benefits is equal to or less than the weekly benefit rate. (For example, if a worker works ten hours a week but is paid only 8 hours of Loss of Earnings benefits, future costs would not be projected for this claim.)

A portion of the difference between the expected costs and NEER costs are either refunded or charged back to the firm. The amount of the refund or surcharge is based in part on the size of the firm. For example, a smaller firm would see a smaller refund — but also a smaller surcharge.

The NEER program reviews each accident year for four consecutive years , and your NEER assessment is based on the net total adjustment of each individual accident year being reviewed. For example, the 2014 accident year was reviewed for the first time in 2015 and will be reviewed for the second time in 2016, a third time in 2017 and the final time in 2018.

More information

You can also read the NEER User Guide (PDF) and explore the Financial Business Case for Health and Safety in Ontario (PDF), which is a simple cost tool that helps you calculate your potential NEER rebate and the impact on profits and costs resulting from injuries and incidents.

2020 NEER assessments

Businesses will not have the opportunity to recoup the cost of any potential surcharge for the 2020 NEER assessment as the NEER program has ended without the full four years of maturity. Claims from accident years 2017, 2018 and 2019 will be inactivated as long as no costs have been paid out on a claim after March 31, 2020 (2020 Q1 NEER statement).

The inactivation of these claims may reduce a business’ NEER costs, which could potentially lead to NEER surcharge or rebate adjustments. The WSIB will manually adjust business’ NEER statements for each applicable year and claim that meets the criteria. This will not apply to the 2016 injury year, as the full four-year review for this year was completed in 2020. Any adjustments are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.

For more information, please contact experiencerating@wsib.on.ca or call 1-800-663-6639 or 416-344-1016 to speak with an Experience Rating Advisor.

NEER Reserve Factor tables

We use the NEER Reserve Factor tables to estimate future costs of claims. We update reserve factors regularly to reflect the collective claims experience for each claim type (including recurrences), any administrative program changes as well as the latest Schedule 1 actuarial valuation assumptions.

The amount we set aside to cover these costs is applied to your NEER record, based on claim type and the age of the claim.

Using the NEER reserve factor tables

Instructions:

1. To use the NEER Reserve Factor tables, select your rate group from the list of accident years below. For example, Rate Group 377 would be found in the Rate Group Range 207-542.
2. Once you have downloaded the excel spreadsheet, find the claim type at the top of the spreadsheet and follow it down to the claim's age in months. This amount is your NEER Reserve Factor.
3. Multiplying this Reserve Factor with the discounted non-pension costs gives you the Projected Future Costs of the claim.

Note: You can also download an excel spreadsheet that contains all of the rate groups in one spreadsheet.

Key terms to understand when using the factor tables:

• Claim type - There are 15 types of claims. Claim types depend on the benefits (or combination of benefits) paid, when those benefits are incurred and/or the number of weeks benefits are paid.
• Claim age month- We calculate how old the claim is in complete months, from the first month after the accident date to the valuation date on your quarterly statement. This represents the maturity of the claim for NEER purposes.
• NEER reserve factor- The NEER reserve factor is applied to the total cost of benefits paid to date, except for Non-Economic Loss Awards and Survivor Benefits. This factor determines the amount we set aside for future costs on your NEER statement.