Officials in local, provincial, and federal government in Canada that deal with workplace safety have one goal in mind, making sure workers have as much protection as possible when they hit the workplace.
With that in mind, Alberta’s Workers Compensation Board (WCB) recently updated both employers and employees in its efforts to better improve workplace safety throughout the province.
According to Guy Kerr, WCB-Alberta president and CEO, “In 2012, 93.1 percent of injured workers we cared for achieved a safe level of fitness for work.”
Kerr credits WCB clients’ determination for making a difference in their recovery and supportive employers for providing the right modified work alternatives to help them succeed. In fact, nearly 50 percent of the employers WCB contacted offered modified work to their workers as they recovered from injury.
“Every day, WCB employees and partners work hard to ensure injured workers have opportunities to succeed,” stated Kerr. “The system works because a lot of people are committed to making the effort it takes to make workplaces safer and maximize return-to-work opportunities. And it works because for them, and for us, it matters.”
Key 2012 workers comp system trends reported include:
- Worker satisfaction with the fairness of WCB decisions remained high at 84.3 per cent. Fair decisions are a cornerstone of WCB-Alberta’s strategic plan.
- The number of workers insured through the workers comp system rose to 1.94 million.
- The number of employers who fund the workers comp system grew to more than 154,700.
Key 2012 financial trends:
- Surplus from customer operations was $185.6 million, up from $53.2 million in 2011, due to higher premium revenues and lower claims costs than expected.
- Financial management activities generated a surplus of $268.3 million, up significantly from $18.8 million in 2011. Higher investment returns were major contributors to the overall portfolio return of 10.5 per cent.
- The strong results in 2012 contributed to a Funded Position of 130.2 per cent.
- Growth of 11.6 per cent in employer insurable earnings closely paralleled premium revenue growth of 13.3 per cent to $1,157.2 million in 2012. The actual average premium rate collected increased slightly to $1.24, from $1.23 in 2011.
- Total claims and claims management expenses of $842.6 million decreased $1.9 million. This was due to lower costs primarily associated with health care.
- Average claim duration decreased significantly in 2012, ending the year at 34.2 days due to an increase in the use of modified work and positive return-to-work outcomes.
- Lost-time claim volume of 28,300 was up 1.4 per cent from 2011.
Find these and other key trends in WCB’s 2012 Annual Report.
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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