Ontario’s WSIB rate changes to come Jan. 2020

A number of important changes are taking place to how Ontario’s Workers Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will be assessing the province’s contractor premiums come January 2020. According to a recent message from the WSIB, the change will make rates, “Easier to understand how your business and other businesses are classified. It will also better reflect your individual claims experience and help businesses plan for the future by providing projected rate information.”

Across all industries, the rate-group list is reduced from 155 to 34. That is not to say there will be a corresponding reduction in overall premium-cost categories, however. Within each rate group will be a average premium rate and a series of “risk bands” of varying rates. According to the WSIB, the differential between risk bands will be approximately five per cent. The risk band within which each company will fall is determined from the claims history of the company.

According to the WSIB the overall effect of the 2020 changes is expected to be revenue neutral.

If you would like to attend one of WSIB’s monthly seminars made available to explain the changes in more detail, click here to register. As of this writing, there are two scheduled so far, one for August 21, 10:00 – 11:00am and September 18, 10:00 – 11:00am.