Why are you paying 117% more for WCB coverage than you need to be?

Written by George Marshall, CEO of Service Hospitality

The Saskatchewan hotel industry is classified under the S23 industrial rate code by the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB), this is for purposes of WCB coverage and premiums.  From 2017 to 2018, the hotel industry was successful in “holding the line” on injuries with only a 2.5% increase.  Total costs associated with those claims, however, skyrocketed 42.0% in the same year.  After a careful analysis of these claims, it is clear that the vast majority of this increase in costs is driven by older claims; i.e., claims prior to 2018 that are still active in 2018 are massively impacting total costs in 2018.

In addition, legislative changes have certainly impacted these costs.  Saskatchewan introduced the most aggressive legislation in the country on psychological health and safety and we are already seeing an increase in claims as well as costs.  But, the real driver of these costs is that claims are not being managed as well as they were in the past.

As an industry, this failure to adequately manage claims has cost hoteliers approximately $600,000 in direct costs with an estimated $2.4 million in indirect costs.  Individually, this means that 27 hoteliers are getting surcharged by WCB an average of 52% in 2019.  With the maximum discount being 30%, this means that 27 hoteliers are paying on average 117% more for WCB coverage in 2019 than they need to be.  If you are a General Manager of a hotel, I would ask you if there is any other budget line that you (or your ownership) would be comfortable paying 117% more than what you need to in today’s economic environment.

You have an opportunity to positively impact that 117% at no cost to you.  If you are one of these 27 hoteliers, or one of the hundreds of hoteliers in Saskatchewan who are not receiving a 30% discount on your WCB coverage, you need to call us immediately.

Service Hospitality has 23 years of experience assessing claims management processes and systems and educating employers on how they can most effectively manage their claims.  We have extensive services on health and safety that we can provide you, including innovative tools such as our virtual reality hotel. Service Hospitality can help you now and you have already paid for our service!