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How to Improve Your MOD Score and Reduce Workers’ Compensation Costs
The MOD score. For employers, it can cause a smile of relief or a look of anguish for those needing to figure out how to get a better score. So, what is a MOD score?
Also known as an Experience Modification Rating or MOD rate, the MOD score is a type of grading system for all employers in every state. The grade given is determined by the number of workers’ compensation claims an employer had over a certain period.
The lower the score, the safer the employer is considered to be. Scores are assigned by each state’s worker’s compensation rating bureau and insurers use them to determine premiums on workers’ compensation insurance.
Some companies will not hire a vendor if they have a high or unfavorable MOD score. However, there are ways to improve your score.
Spotting a Fake
Lowering your MOD score is done by controlling losses, partly though safety and prevention measures.
Prevention begins by first understanding the hot spots for workers’ compensation claims. We dive deep into a company’s workers’ compensation data and break down trends in claims by supervisor, body part, three-year cost of claims, day and time, to name a few.
The trends can be interesting and telling. For example, workers tend to have a lot of so-called accidents on Mondays and Fridays.
That’s not just a case of the Mondays; it is more likely that they were injured over the weekend outside of work but want to try to claim workers’ compensation by saying the accident happened at work. The goal is to get paid for taking time off to heal.
For accidents on Mondays, do a little more research to determine if the accident really did happen at work.
For claims made due to an accident on a Friday, determine if the worker was trying to rush to the weekend, which caused them to be unintentionally careless, leading to an accident.
We also look at the workers’ compensation bureau worksheet to determine if there are high reserves or mistakes affecting an employer’s score.
Getting the Grade
Try these five steps to lower the frequency and severity of workers’ compensation claims.
- Conduct regular safety training on equipment used and how to avoid bodily injury. It might be as simple as bending at the knees or wearing goggles.
- Provide the appropriate safety equipment needed for the job and the environment.
- Welcome feedback and reporting. Create an atmosphere in which employees are encouraged to share information about unsafe conditions and ideas on how to improve them.
- Conduct routine inspections of all workstations.
- Ensure a healthy work environment. Make sure people get the proper breaks so the work doesn’t take a toll on their bodies.
The experienced team at Oswald can help you assess your environment and help you create a plan to enhance safety and lower workers’ compensation claims.
This story also appeared in Finishing & Coating Magazine.
Related article: Don’t Let Your MOD Happen to You, Control It
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