Rate Framework (Archived): Experiencing rating programs

Your 2020 premium rates were set using your paid claims experience for injuries or illnesses from 2013 to 2018. If you were a part of an experience rating program, your 2016, 2017 and 2018 experience rating assessments were considered for your 2020 premium rates.

Experience rating assessment issued in 2019 and 2020 were not included in your 2020 rates calculation.

Also important to note:

• If a business is eligible for NEER in 2018, then your first NEER statement, a system generated statement issued quarterly to all NEER businesses that includes claims information for monitoring purposes, was issued in 2019, and was not included in your 2020 premium rate calculation.
• Our new premium rate-setting model came into effect on January 1, 2020, and businesses will receive their final NEER and CAD- 7 statements in the fall of 2020.  NEER statement will include any adjustments based on the first assessment of their 2019 claims, second assessment of their 2018 claims, third assessment of their 2017 claims and fourth assessment of their 2016 claims. CAD7 statement will include any adjustment based on the first assessment of 2019 and second assessment of 2018. These would be the final assessments for each of these accident years.
• 2020 is the final review year for businesses in the NEER and CAD -7 programs. All businesses that transitioning out of MAP into NEER or CAD7 will not be included in the assessment. 
   

Any rate adjustment under the existing experience rating programs is applicable only to years preceding implementation of the new model. We use claims experience from these years to set future premium rates. This means that the experience for these years is not being double-counted. We simply use it as a guide to future rate-setting. This rate-setting approach is the same approach used under the current system for setting rate group rates.

No, since we are moving to a prospective rate setting approach, there will be no rebates or surcharges under our new model. The rates you pay under the new model will better reflect your individual claims experience, making experience rating programs unnecessary.

Yes, we considered your 2016 to 2018 premium rate adjustments under the NEER, CAD-7 and MAP programs and your claims experience from 2013 to 2018, to determine 2020 premium rate. The 2019 and 2020 experience rating assessments will have no impact on your future rate.

All allowed claims will be considered when calculating your rate under the new model, including claims with “zero costs.” It is important to note that certain claims will be excluded at the employer level. For example, specific long-latency occupational disease claims will be excluded. As well, certain high cost claims will be capped based on an employer’s per claim cost limit. These concepts exist as well in the current experience rating programs.

Both lost-time and no lost-time claims lead to benefit payments under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. As a result, we use both types of claims for the determination of an employer’s predictability and actual claims cost.

Note: The impact of a single claim will vary by business depending on the class a business belongs to, their individual risk and other parameters as defined by the new model.

Only claims costs paid are included in the calculation of your rate. Concepts such as reserve factors and loading factors will not be used under our new rate-setting model. You can request an extended statement that will provide you with details on how your individual premium rate was calculated, the adjustments made based on your claims experience and a breakdown of your claims costs.

To request an extended statement:

• Email experiencerating@wsib.on.ca or employeraccounts@wsib.on.ca
• Call 1-800-663-6639
• Contact experiencerating@wsib.on.ca if you have questions about your final NEER or CAD7 statement.

If your experience rating assessment (CAD7 or NEER) results in a surcharge, the debit will still be applied to your account. Under WSIB’s financial relief package, you can defer the payment of your surcharge amount until 2021. 

All businesses that chose to participate in the financial relief package will have until June 30, 2021 to repay deferred amounts, interest-free. Deferred amount payments can be made by June 30, 2021.

We recognize that some businesses may require longer repayment terms due to the ongoing pandemic. If you require additional support once the repayment period has started, please contact us and we will be happy to work with you.

Pre-rate framework

Under the current rate-setting system, we consider six years of experience to determine your rate group rate.

Then, in addition to that, we look at three years to determine a MAP adjustment.

Each year, you are charged your individual rate, that is, the rate group rate adjusted with your prospective MAP adjustment.

Post-rate framework

Under rate framework, we will look at six years to set employer individual rates and there will be no additional adjustment programs.

We will treat excluded claims under the rate framework the same as we did previously.

The MAP program will end before our new premium rate setting model is implemented and the 10 per cent discount will not be transitioned into the new model.

We will use your experience under the current system from 2013-2018 (and MAP premium rate adjustments for premium years 2016-2018) to determine the rate you will pay under the rate framework. 

No, there is no claim limit in the new model that would guide any decisions relating to return to work, as is now the case under MAP. In the new model, all claim costs will be considered a part of a business’s individual claims experience and will be used to set a business’s individual rate. Premium reductions or increases will be driven by your claims costs in comparison to your class.

Under the new model, all benefit payments made during the six years preceding the rate calculation year for injuries arising during this six-year period will be taken into account when setting rates for the rate year. For example, rates set for 2020, the rate year, will be set in 2019, the rate calculation year. All benefit payments made from 2013 to 2018 for work-related injuries/illnesses arising from 2013 to 2018 will be taken into account for the rate calculation.

There are per employer claim limits, varying with the predictability level of your business. These serve to limit the extent to which individual experience will factor into your rates. Claims excluded from individual employer rates in this way are charged for at the class level i.e. distributed over all businesses within the same class.