The construction industry requires a delicate balance between worker safety and work completion and efficiency. At Calvac Paving, we value the safety and health of our employees as an integral part of our Business Plan. While many companies say this, we are pleased to be able to provide hard numbers to prove it. Our Ex-Mod(California Modification Rating System) rating of 74 with our workers’ compensation insurer is one of the lowest in the industry. This means that over the last three years, our experienced workers’ compensation losses have been 25% less than the conventional wisdom of the insurance industry said they should be. All this sounds very impressive, but what does it actually mean? Here’s a closer look at why this is big news for Calvac Paving and our valued clients.
What Does Ex-Mod Really Mean?
In simple terms a company’s experience modification compares actual losses to expected losses. The experience rating system, in essence, adjusts the premium an employer will pay based on a comparison of that employer’s history of payroll and claims (collectively referred to as “experience”) to the average experience of other employers within the same classification. The result of this comparison is an experience modification. A Ex-Mod rating of a 100 is average, and pays 100% of the customary premium for coverage. Likewise, a company with an ex-mod of 125 would pay 125% of the industry average premium, because of the higher risk and nearly certain greater expense involved in the carrier keeping this company on the books.
Calvac Paving’s rating of 74 is well below the industry standard and means that we pay less than 3/4 of what many of our competitors would for identical workers’ compensation coverage. The best performers in the industry rarely reach an ex-mod of below 70, because insurance carriers can hardly afford to give away their coverage. However, our ex-mod does provide a verifiable, actionable metric by which to measure worker safety and the likelihood of on-the-job accidents and injuries among our employees.
How Is Ex-Mod Calculated?
The State of California’s Worker’s Compensation Insurance Rating Board put new rules in place for 2012, based on recommendations from the state insurance commissioner in 2008. These rules state that insurance ex-mod is calculated every year as an average of the data from the three preceding calendar years. The WCIRB guidelines require that insurance carriers provide an ex-mod score statement each year, usually at least 30 days before renewing the premium. These guidelines are intended to incentivize good occupational health and safety practices and limit workers’ compensation claims, but at Calvac Paving, we just call that business as usual. The financial perks that come with having a great safety record are always welcome in the business world, but what really matters to us is what our ex-mod means in the real world: the fact that our employees go home every night to their families in the same condition they left the house in the morning.
What Does Our Insurance Broker Say?
Our insurance broker, NFP/Thoits Insurance, consistently praises our safety record and the programs we use to improve it. Because we take our people’s safety so seriously, we incorporate training on every aspect of construction safety, site and roadway hazards and first aid training. We work closely with our carrier to implement and maintain a sound, viable loss prevention strategy, including IIPP and Early Return to Work programs that help our employees get back to work sooner while remaining in compliance with their healthcare provider’s orders. Because of these factors, our broker has consistently praised our programs and proactive worker safety initiatives, even going so far as to note that our programs are paving the way for future improvements.
From The Principals
Calvac Paving’s Principals are justifiably proud of the company, management and employees for the way they have worked together to make a safer workplace a reality. By continuing to train employees in proper on-site safety protocols and emergency measures as part of a program that meets Cal-OSHA standards for workplace safety, Calvac Paving is leading the way in setting the highest benchmarks possible for worker safety and lost-time injury prevention. Even more importantly, it means Calvac Paving’s employees get to enjoy more productive working days and quality, healthy time with their loved ones when off the clock. While construction continues to be a challenging field in which to balance productivity and safety, we take great pride in proving it’s possible every day.
