Workman's Comp rates questions and comparisons needed......

The Steam Whisperer (Formerly Boilerpro)

I've been reviewing my insurance and have found that my insurance company has decided to use code 3726 " Boiler Installation and Repair- Steam" as my main rate.   This makes my Workman's comp rate at 30% of payroll.....something I consider absolutely obscene.   Basically this is saying that for every two years on the job, a person working in this field has about one year of  workman's comp pay or, to put another way, the average steam boiler tech spends one third of thier career off work due to injuries.   

HVAC code 5537 is only 17.5% of payroll (still obscene,but better). 

The same applies to general liability.....about 10% for HVAC, but 17% for boiler installation and repair. 

 I was wondering what rate some of you are paying...especially others like Steamhead and Gordy that work almost exclusively with boilers.  Also what company do you use for insurance, as it looks like I may need to go elsewhere if they insist on this classification.

Thanks All.... 

tim smith

Re: L&I Rates

Almost all of our hrs are pd on boiler/pipe fitting rate. We are around 2/hr. Our experience factor got up there a bit in last 2 years from some injuries. Not major ones but several smaller ones. I just consider it part of my rate but I still did not like my exp factor being so high, around 1.6, yuck.  Sounds like your rates are a lot higher than ours?

SWEI

WC rates

Our state homebuilders' association runs a self-insurance pool that saves us a ton of money.  Most rates dropped last year: plumbing $5.43 and HVAC $7.06 but we get another 25% or so between experience factor and other discounts.  They also let us report on multiple job codes (other than clerical) depending on the work, something we could not do with our previous carrier.



For comparison, carpentry is $13.26 (used to be $18) and iron/steel work is $33.78 (used to be $47.)  We have very little highrise work here and those contractors are probably not in this pool anyway.

The Steam Whisperer (Formerly Boilerpro)

Any other input.....

This cost is a real killer for most businesses, so i was hoping to see a little more discusion.

Mark Eatherton

Possibly need to look at changing companies...

Or possibly changing your classification to Plumbing/HVAC.



I am insured under the PHVAC category, and it is costing me $3,300.00 per year, and that is just for me. About 7% with no modifiers because my account is too new to rate.



ME