Calhoun County: Employee safety leads to insurance savings

Feb. 15—Calhoun County was recently recognized by the S.C. Association of Counties for having a safe environment for employees, which led to insurance savings.

The county had the third-lowest experience modifier for three consecutive years, with county employees' work in risk management saving taxpayers nearly $100,000 in insurance costs.

County Administrator John McLauchlin said the county received the Risk Management Award from the S.C. Counties Workers' Compensation Trust.

The experience modifier was based on workers' compensation claims during policy years spanning from 2016 to 2018.

"Calhoun County had the third-lowest experience modifier in the trust out of the 41 counties that's involved. Because we had so few claims in those years, this really rings the bottom line when you see what it equates to. It will save the taxpayers almost $100,000," McLaughlin said.

"It's less tax dollars that have to go toward insurance. The effort was (led by) the two previous administrators, Lee Prickett and Ted Felder, as well as our HR department here at the county. But, ultimately, it's about the employees staying mindful on being safe. It made me feel proud that we were able to get that information," the administrator said.

The county has approximately 206 employees.

The SCAC reports that an experience modifier of greater than 1 means that a county had more claims than they were expected to have, while a modifier of less than 1 means a county had less claims than expected.

Calhoun County's experience modifier for the 2020-2021 policy year was .6, meaning the county's claims were 40 percent lower than expected. It received a 40 percent reduction in its workers' compensation premium.

The SCAC said fewer employees got hurt, creating "a win/win for your risk management team."

"This low experience modifier is due to the hard work of your risk management team, the employees and support from your county administrator and county council," the email read.

McLauchlin said risk management training for county employees is held.

"We do from time to time have classes and online training just to keep it fresh in everybody's mind to be safe," he said.

Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD

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