WCB savings and group benefit discounts can be a boon for operating profits
Question from reader:
I pay $160K/yr in WCB premiums, and about the same amount in group benefits. This is money I need to make my business work. I also have a WCB decision I’d like appealed and have been looking around for a WCB lawyer. What can you do for me?
(A) Assuming an average experience rating, you’re eligible for up to a 40% discount. Follow our lead and we’ll fast-track your route to a maximal discount. Same goes for group benefits; as we ramp up your WCB program, there’ll be a corresponding drop in your third-party premiums of a similar magnitude.
What this means for you is $100-150K or more in yearly savings. Blue Collar’s services set you back less than $10K, meaning that >$100K is added to your bottom line every year. For many small to mid-size companies, realizing $100K would boost operating margins by 5-20%.
With respect to the appeal, there’s no need to hire a WCB lawyer unless the Appeals Commission rules against you, in which case you may decide to pursue your dissatisfaction with The Court of Queen’s Bench. As I’ve mentioned in other articles, the prospects for a judicial review are bleak at best, and the courts will only review the rulings of administrative tribunals under exacting circumstances. The better way to go is to exhaust all your options within the WCB’s various levels of appeal.
But just hang on. So far all we’ve talked is offense, aka increased profits. What about defense? From a WCB perspective, we’re still in the early innings of COVID. Case managers at the Board are working overtime to process the influx of work-related COVID claims, a good percentage of which are morphing into long-term disability (COVID long-haulers). Rest assured that COVID, in addition to the ongoing proliferation of psych claims, will help drive the upward trajectory of premiums. But Blue Collar protects against this emergent risk as well.
