Workers Compensation

Most insurance market cycles are pretty straightforward—yet what’s currently happening in the workers compensation market defies the usual logic.

An agent’s commercial client plans to hire an intern who is not affiliated with a university. The intern will not be paid and will be at the office shadowing an employee for a few hours a week.

Any agent who’s had a workers comp client poached understands that just like any other line of insurance, satisfied, well-protected workers comp insureds require a serious investment of time and effort.

In the third quarter of 2018, workers comp was the only commercial line to clock a composite decrease, with average rate changes coming in around -3%.

Independent agent Jon Erickson invests a lot of time in educating his clients about ways to avoid workplace injuries. “Workers compensation costs can be controlled with risk management more than other lines of insurance,” he says.

Record flu seasons like this one beg the question: Is the flu considered an occupational illness?

If an employer’s hiring processes are too relaxed or they fail to invest in the proper insurance coverages, they could end up facing costly fines, potential lawsuits and possible reputational damage.

How do you corner the workers comp market as an independent agent? First, learn experience mods inside and out, says Andrew Atkinson. Second, “it’s not enough to just know it—you have to know how to explain it to somebody who runs a business.”

Just because workers compensation insurance is mandatory doesn’t mean you can afford to be lazy. To make the client/agent relationship count, you have to be proactive.

What’s driving rate decreases in workers compensation? Here’s what you need to know about the challenges this market faces in 2017 and beyond.