OSHA's $afety Pays Program

OSHA's website provides a fantastic tool to demonstrate the estimated costs of occupational injuries and illnesses and the estimated impact on an organization's profitability.  Check out the $afety Pays Program Calculator.


Here's how it works:
The user manually inputs some basic workers' compensation claims data including profit margin, type of injury/illness, and number of injuries.  The calculator has been programmed with data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) which details the average cost of lost time workers' compensation claims from 2006-2008.

Results:
The calculator provides the user with estimated direct costs (actual costs associated with claims which may be insured under WC policy) and indirect costs (loss of production, overtime, hiring costs, etc. -- always paid by employer).  The calculator then bases the amount of sales the employer would have to make to cover the indirect and direct costs of the claims.

The user can use this for an individual claim, or they can input their loss runs data to demonstrate just how much their WC claims costs them above and beyond premium dollars.

Considerations:
The NCCI data is based on an average including a number of states.  Numbers are only an estimate, but can serve as an eye-opener to employers who assume that "this is what I have WC insurance for."  While partly true, every employer has more at stake than just a WC premium increase.