Some Manufacturers See Drop in Workers’ Comp Cost
Published Jul 09, 2008
There is some relief for California manufacturing companies that must bear the high costs of providing workers’ compensation insurance.
In 2003, the California Manufacturers & Technology Association began working with the state legislature to reduce manufacturers’ workers’ comp insurance rates. Those efforts have resulted in hundreds of manufacturing companies in California receiving up
to a 6 percent savings in their insurance expenditures each year.
“A company must be a CMTA member to receive the savings, but our reasonable annual dues are a mere drop in the bucket compared to what manufacturers can save in insurance costs,” says Andy Viglietti, the association’s risk manager. “CMTA had 250 members statewide before we battled for the 6 percent savings, and now we have more than 800 manufacturing members who all are benefiting from the insurance cost reduction.”
Viglietti says many other groups such as farmers and truckers have historically benefited from group insurance programs, but manufacturers never had such an arrangement until now.
“Several manufacturers had been talking about leaving California because the cost of workers’ compensation was so high, so something had to be done,” he says. “The State Compensation Insurance Fund came on board as the insurance carrier for this program. They offer reasonable rates so that California manufacturers can better compete in the marketplace with other states and (countries) overseas.”
Viglietti says any CMTA member with a good safety record and sound safety program is entitled to the 6 percent savings.
“Our focus of help for this program was not on huge companies such as the Hewlett-Packards and the Chevrons of the world, but rather the smaller manufacturers that are the bedrock of our manufacturing sector in California,” he says. “Manufacturers with 150 employees or less – those are the companies we really wanted to help.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Current Weather Conditions In Sacramento, CA (95811)
Clear, and 53 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
