“If our experience mod is high, our premium will be high.”
And while that’s partially true, it’s far from the full picture. In reality, two companies with the exact same experience mod can receive very different pricing from insurers.
Why? Because pricing isn’t based on numbers alone but based on perception of risk.
The Role of the Experience Mod
Your experience modification factor (mod) is one of the primary inputs in your workers’ comp premium calculation. It reflects how your past losses compare to what’s expected in your industry.
- Higher mod → higher perceived risk
- Lower mod → lower perceived risk
But here’s the key: The mod is a backward-looking metric. It reflects what has already happened not what is happening now.
What Carriers Really Care About
Insurance carriers don’t just price based on history. They price based on what they believe will happen next.
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“How to Calculate Your Minimum Experience Mod, Controllable Premium & the Revenue Impact”
That means they look beyond your mod and evaluate:
- Trends in your claims
- Improvements in reporting speed (lag time)
- Effectiveness of your return-to-work program
- Changes in safety practices
- Leadership involvement in risk management
If your data shows that things are improving even if your mod hasn’t caught up yet you may still be seen as a better risk.
The “Trend vs. Snapshot” Problem
Your mod is a snapshot. Carriers care about trends.
For example:
- Company A has a 1.20 mod and worsening claims performance
- Company B has a 1.20 mod but significantly improved processes and declining losses
Even though the mods are identical, Company B is far more attractive to an underwriter. Why? Because Company B represents lower future risk.
How Carriers “Ride the Mod Down”
There’s a common dynamic in underwriting:
If a carrier believes your organization is improving, they may:
- Offer more favorable pricing upfront
- Apply credits or reduce debits
- Accept slightly higher risk in the short term
Why would they do this? Because they expect your mod to decrease over time and they want to benefit from that improvement. This is often referred to as “riding the mod down.”
What This Means for Employers
If your mod is currently high, you’re not stuck.
You can influence how carriers perceive your risk by demonstrating:
- Faster reporting of injuries
- Reduced lag time
- Strong return-to-work results
- Clear internal processes
- Consistent management involvement
These are leading indicators of performance and they matter.
Turning Performance Into Pricing Power
To improve your pricing position, focus on documenting and communicating your improvements.
That means being able to show:
- How your lag time has improved
- How many claims are staying medical-only
- How quickly employees return to work
- What safety initiatives are in place
When you can demonstrate progress, you shift the conversation from:
“This is what happened”
to
“This is where we’re going.”
FREE DOWNLOAD: “How to Calculate Your Minimum Experience Mod, Controllable Premium & the Revenue Impact”
Final Thought
Your experience mod matters but it’s not the whole story. Carriers price based on risk, not just history. And risk is influenced by what you’re doing today not just what happened yesterday. If you can show improvement, you can earn better pricing—even before your mod reflects it.
Michael Stack, CEO of Amaxx LLC, is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and provides education, training, and consulting to help employers reduce their workers’ compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is co-author of the #1 selling comprehensive training guide “Your Ultimate Guide to Mastering Workers’ Comp Costs: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%.” Stack is the creator of Injury Management Results (IMR) software and founder of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center. WC Mastery Training teaching injury management best practices such as return to work, communication, claims best practices, medical management, and working with vendors. IMR software simplifies the implementation of these best practices for employers and ties results to a Critical Metrics Dashboard.
Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
Workers’ Comp Roundup Blog: http://blog.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/
Injury Management Results (IMR) Software: https://imrsoftware.com/
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