Business Insurance: Good News For Those in WA carrying Work Cover Insurance
With the economy still being quite unsettled and business insurance being extremely high those businesses that carry Work cover insurance in WA received good news today. Due to a wage growth and fewer people making claims on WA has been able to lower their work coverage rate 14 percentage points to a new historic low of 1.49 percent.
This may constitute a considerable savings for some businesses that pay this kind of business insurance. Work cover business insurance is designed to help offset medical and lost work expenses to employees who are injured on the job.
What is even better news is that this new lower rate will apply to all but 37 of the 480 premium classes. However, what is good news for the majority of businesses in WA is not so good for the 36 categories of businesses which will see in a rise in their Work cover rates. The rise in rates for these businesses however is a reflection of individual industries performance.
The work cover business insurance rates have been declining in WA for some time so this new lower overall rate while welcome probably does not come as a big surprise. It does however make WA one of the areas that has a significantly low Work coverage rate placing right along side Victoria whose rate is 1.387% and much lower than the rate in SA of 2.75 percent.
While the lower Work cover rates are good news for employers it is also good news for the employees in WA as well. While employees do not receive any financial advantage from the lowering of these rates, the fact that work cover business insurance claims have been steadily dropping is at least an indication that most businesses and industries have a safer work environment than ever before. Less work related injuries to employees means less lost work time and a benefit to employees overall health.
The one exception to this seems to be Queensland where the work coverage rate is the lowest in Australia at 1.15%. While the businesses currently benefit from this low insurance rate the future may see these rates rising drastically in Queensland. By keeping the work cover rates low Queensland has incurred a consecutive debt of $800,000 which is due at least in part to freely approving claims with little investigation. While no one wants to see an employee refused benefits that he is due, approving claims without a through investigation could result in thousands of dollars spent on fraudulent claims that could bankrupt the system and result in rising worker cover insurance rates for businesses.
Critics are suggesting that Queensland take action to reform their work cover business insurance system. In the meantime businesses in areas such as Victoria and WA have been able to lower their rates, and save employers money on Work cover business insurance premiums without putting the system at risk. What is good news for the employers paying these lower premiums is also good news for the employees working in an environment where work related injuries are at a minimum. Proving that providing a safe working environment can be beneficial to all.
