With a desire to capitalise on his experience from a variety of roles in insurance (in both NSW & Vic), commercial, government and transport, Damien joins as our National Manager.
Prior to Ability Group I came from EML spending time in both TMF and Workers Insurance. I have also spent time with Gallagher Bassett and initially started with CGU in Victoria many years ago. Outside of workers comp I have spent time as a mortgage broker and worked in operations and account management within the transport industry.
In the last 12 months, the NSW workers compensation industry has experienced dramatic change. As we approach 30 June 2016, it should be relieving for businesses to know that for there are no changes for workers compensation WorkCover Industry Classification (WIC) rates. As 2016/17 rates for NSW Workers Compensation apply to all renewals that fall due at 4pm on 30th June 2016, businesses and brokers will now be receiving renewal notices for these policies without fear of rate driven increases.
For large employers, icare however announced changes to the Retro Paid Loss (RPL) model by introducing Loss Prevention & Recovery (LPR) scheme as the replacement. LPR is progressively moving closer to providing pricing similar to that of insurers in privately underwritten schemes. This is an important change for large business.
In 2015/16, many employers faced sharp increases in premiums due to prior year adjustments and a new renewal formula. For businesses with tariff premiums above $30,000, the impact was substantial, creating financial strain at the most critical time of year.
The recent NSW workers compensation changes have caused challenges across the industry since taking effect on 30 June 2015. Medium to large businesses with premiums over $30,000 have yet to receive official 2015/16 Premium Renewals under the new formula. Early data suggests 75% will face higher costs, leaving most unsure whether their premiums will rise or fall amid the changes. Under the new formula, the key drivers of renewal premium changes will include:
Claims performance comparison to over scheme rather than industry
3 prior years of claims costs rather than 2 years
Claims wage related costs only becoming premium impacting
ABILITY GROUP has already helped numerous clients with higher 2015/16 Renewal Premiums.
Social media is embedded throughout society as people throughout the day are connecting to others via an mediums like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others. If work related incidents are discussed or an employee is bullied, the employer liability is considered. Social media policies are consequently becoming increasingly important for all businesses as connections to workers compensation grow.
The 30 June 2015 NSW changes include a new formula to calculate premiums with a range of new metrics replacing traditional measures. Although designed to make premiums easier to understand, many people are saying the actual result is wide of this mark. In a recent report Workcover Independent Review Officer (WIRO) labelled some workers compensation changes as too complex and confusing.
