Industry Lingo

Empower yourself with the language of insiders. We decipher the arcane terms, epigrammatic abbreviations, and weird words used in the industry.

Adjuster
A person who investigates and settles losses for an insurance company. In a workers' compensation case, an adjuster would do evaluations to determine when the injured would be able to return to work.

Audit
A confirmation of a company's finances that allows an insurance agency to set fair premiums, as well as expose any discrepancies which may be affecting premiums. Your business will undergo yearly audits to determine if your workers' compensation premium is correct.

Claim
A request filed by the insured to the insurance company to be reimbursed for a loss. With workers' compensation, a claim for reimbursement would be filed if an employee is injured on the job.

Coverage
The extent of what your insurance policy will cover in case of any accident or need for reimbursement.

Employee Liability Coverage
Often included as part of a workers' compensation insurance policy. It is meant to protect an employer if an employee files a lawsuit because of an injury or sickness incurred while on the job.

Experience Modification Factor
The experience modification factor is just one of the many ratings and factors that go into the calculation of your worker's comp premiums. This rating is based on your entire history of claims. When purchasing insurance for the first time, this rating won't be considered (simply because you don't have a history of claims at this point).

NCCI
National Council on Compensation Insurance. A bureau that calculates rates for workers' compensation insurance premiums. They use over 600 industry classifications to calculate these rates.

Policy
The plan you receive for your business through your insurance agency. It's a legal document that details all the terms and conditions of your insurance coverage.

Premium
A sum paid for an insurance policy by the policyholder. Usually arranged in monthly, or annual increments. With workers' compensation insurance, the employer pays the entire premium. There isn't any employee contribution, as with other benefits.

Workers' Compensation Insurance
Insurance held by companies to reimburse employees that get sick or injured on the job. Workers' compensation is a state-mandated program.