November 10, 2014

Research done by Apex Services (www.apexservices.com), a leading company in workers compensation premium recovery, has shown that a large percentage of employers renew their workers compensation policy on July 1^st.  For these employers with July 1^st renewals, their workers compensation policy may not be at the forefront of their minds because they are not renewing for another seven months.  However, what many employers do not realize is that the next two months are the most crucial time of year for July 1^st renewals.

The reason that the next two months are imperative for July 1^st renewals is that that the experience modification is calculated six months prior to policy inception. 

Therefore, the single most important factor in calculating the workers compensation premiums (the experience mod) will be published within a short couple of months.  This gives employers just enough time to review their claims and make sure that there are no glaring errors being committed by the insurance companies in handling their claims that would lead to workers compensation overcharges.

Of course the system in which the experience mod is calculated is a complex one.  Even when employers meticulously manage their workers compensation claims, there are often errors in the calculation of the experience mod committed by the insurance company that are complex in nature and cannot be spotted by someone who is not an expert in workers compensation. The easier and more effective way is to have real workers compensation experts (like the professionals at Apex Services) review the upcoming, current, and prior experience mods to pinpoint the errors committed by the insurance companies. Apex Services workers compensation premium recovery is done on a contingency basis to reduce current and future premiums and obtain refunds on prior premiums.

August 29, 2014

Apex Services has learned that trucking companies who belong to mutual workers compensation self-insurance trusts have received bills from The New York Workers Compensation Board in July. As a nationwide leader in obtaining workers compensation refunds for employers, especially those in the transportation industry, Apex Services breaks down what this means for trucking companies.

The idea for these trusts originally was to pool risk and lower workers compensation premiums for trucking companies; however, they had little experience with insurance regulations. Many of these trusts are now insolvent or indebted due to liability miscalculation.

After over 20 of these trusts failed in the mid-2000s, the board set out to determine how much each member owes. Members of the defunct Transportation Workers Compensation Trust, for example, received bills between $14,000 and $33,000.

These bills will surely present dilemmas for trucking companies. One option is to sign a memorandum of understanding to pay 75% of the bill during the next year and a half. However, that would prevent trust members and the board from suing each other. There is precedence in New York that a lower court could levy an injunction against the board's efforts to collect payments from a failed transportation trust.

Receiving workers compensation refunds can offset bills that trucking companies may now have to pay as a result of insolvent trusts. Apex Services offers the quickest and easiest way for employers, especially trucking companies and the transportation industry, to lower their costs.

Workers compensation premium recovery reduces employers’ experience modification factor and obtains workers compensation refunds while helping contractors win bids in the process.

Cedarhurst, NY – July 21, 2014

Apex Services (http://www.apexservices.com/) is proud to announce that having successfully obtained workers compensation refunds for their clients in the construction industry has directly led to their clients’ success in winning bids on projects by having lower experience modification factors. Apex Services concluded that by reducing the clients experience mods in a short period of time, not only did their clients receive workers compensation refunds on prior years’ policies, but their bottom line was drastically helped by allowing them to win bids they submitted on construction-related projects.

Workers compensation insurance is the second largest expense after payroll for companies in blue-collar industries. The single most important factor in determining an employer’s workers compensation premium is the experience modification factor (also known as the mod, e-mod, ex-mod, or EMR). The experience modification factor is doubly important for employers in construction-related industries because it is used to prequalify contractors for worksite eligibility. Rising experience modification factors have hindered many employers’ ability to land new contracts and have had significantly adverse effects on their bottom line.

To learn more about workers compensation refunds, please visit: http://www.apexservices.com/.

Workers compensation premium recovery is a service that helps employers obtain workers compensation refunds on current and prior policies. Although this service would benefit any employer by recovering past workers compensation overcharges, it is especially helpful for those in construction-related industries. That is because on top of receiving workers compensation refunds on prior policies, workers compensation premium recovery optimizes the current and even future experience mods.

“Workers compensation premium recovery should be a top priority for any smart employer who bids on projects. Forget about the fact that employers receive workers compensation refunds on premiums they paid in the past, the reduction and optimization of a company’s experience mods can have long-lasting effects on future earnings.” explained Simon Feuer, President of Apex Services, which is a workers compensation premium recovery firm based in New York.

The experience modification factor has been used as a qualifier for the construction industry to do business for decades. It can effectively cripple a company’s ability to generate revenue. If a construction company’s experience mod is not below 1.00, or sometimes below .90 or even lower, it cannot land new contracts. What’s worse is that there are factors beyond the employer’s control that can increase the mod. For example, recent changes in the split point have caused some employer’s experience mod to skyrocket, even though their claims severity and frequency were unchanged. “It seems like every day we get a call from construction companies, elevator companies, or air conditioning and heating companies, who don’t know about the split point change and are left wondering why their renewal mod is going up to the point that it will prevent them from bidding on projects” said Mr. Feuer. “Furthermore, one large claim can have an adverse effect on three future experience modifications. It hardly seems fair that a single workers compensation claim should prevent a company from doing business.”

Another thing that most employers don’t realize is that their experience mod is likely inflated. “We successfully knock down a mod and recover workers compensation refunds on 90% of the accounts we review,” according to Mr. Feuer, “This figure is even higher for construction-related companies who need this service the most” For more information on experience modification optimization and obtaining workers compensation refunds, visit http://www.apexservices.com/ or contact Simon Feuer by phone at 516-791-3400 or by email at simon(at)apexservices(dot)com.

July 3, 2014

The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey has enforced a contractual provision that limits an employee’s right to file a claim against the employer to six months. As a leader in workers compensation refunds, Apex follows these lawsuits closely.

In this particular case, the employee, Sergio Rodriguez, signed an application that indicated that any lawsuit relating to his employment with the company would be filed no more than six months after the date of the occurrence giving rise to the suit. Rodriguez injured his knee in April 2010, had surgery in July, and worked light-duty until September when he eventually returned to full-duty. He was laid off shortly thereafter, along with 101 other employees.

Employer vs. Employee Workers Compensation Lawsuit

Rodriguez sued his employer, Raymours, claiming that he had been fired because he filed a workers compensation claim. The judge dismissed the suit because the six-month statute of limitation on filing a claim had already passed.

To read the decision, click here.

Having the right wording in your employment application can end up saving your company a lot of money. Making sure that your workers compensation experience is correct is also an important factor in your company’s finances.  Workers compensation premium recovery is a service that reviews your past and current workers compensation premiums, corrects errors committed by the insurance company, and obtains workers compensation refunds.

February 10, 2014

If your company is one of the many employers that renewed its workers compensation policy on January 1^st, you have probably already gotten an actual copy of your workers compensation policy by now, or you will be getting it soon.  Many employers just file away the policy without reviewing it or even giving it a second thought.  Although many employers are quite disappointed in seeing their premiums increase in 2014, they assume that workers comp costs are a part of doing business and their premiums have been correctly calculated. Conducting a workers compensation review is a great way to save money for your company.

More Details On How To Review Your Workers Compensation Policy

Of course that is not always the case. It is always good business practice for employers to carefully read and review their workers compensation insurance policy in its entirety.  Even if you don’t understand everything, it is not hard to see where your premium increases are coming from. Are your payrolls higher or lower than last year? Is the insurance company using the same classification codes for your employees? How do the rates in the class codes compare to last year? Has the insurance company added any scheduled debits to your 2014 policy? 

As an employer, nobody has your company’s interest at heart more than you. Be vigilant in reviewing all aspects of your workers comp policy and do not hesitate to ask questions as to why you are paying higher premiums. Of course, you may have a hard time figuring out all the answers, especially whether or not all these charges have been calculated correctly. For example, the process in which the insurance company calculates your experience mod is so complex that it would take a real expert and many hours of careful review to figure out if the experience mod percentage slapped on to your policy is actually accurate.

Another aspect of doing your due diligence for your company is hiring an independent workers compensation premium recovery firm that will meticulously and systematically review your current and several years’ prior policies to find errors and overcharges. In our experience, 90% of companies paying over $100,000 a year in workers comp premiums have been overcharged by their insurance companies. Workers compensation premium recovery is a contingency-based service that will correct these mistakes and obtain refunds and reduce premiums for employers. This service will not cost you a dollar unless you receive a check, credit, or reduced premium from your insurance company. So are you really being fiscally responsible for your company’s finances if you pass up on the opportunity to get free money back and pay less in the future? There’s money out there that’s due back to your company. Don’t leave your money on the table!