AGC of Washington distributes group-retro refunds based 75% on individual performance and 25% on the company’s contribution of premium to the refund. As a result of the distribution formula and AGCW’s low administrative fees (approximately 5% of the refund), AGCW members have received refunds as high as 75% of their L&I premium. This performance-based refund approach ensures that those members who spend money up-front on safety-incentive programs, kept-on-salary practices and light-duty return-to-work efforts receive their highest refund potential.

AGCW Retro’s top-performing members have received net-premium refunds averaging 51% and as high as 70-75% in years before the Department of Labor and Industries made changes to the Retro program. While we don’t expect to get back to individual net refunds in the 70% range, we do anticipate that we will continue to achieve outstanding results due to members’ shared commitment to safety, light-duty accommodation, and claims management in conjunction with AGCW safety and claims help.

AGCW’s program was set up as a service for our members — not to generate profit to the association. Because we only take what we need to run the program, our administrative fees are approximately 5% and include interest, compared to competing plans that take a straight percentage off the refund and who charge quarterly fees.

In an individual program, if your losses exceeded your premium (after the L&I factors based on plan selections) you would be charged a penalty. In the AGCW Group Retro program, if your losses exceed your premium, you are not assessed a penalty. The entire group would have to go into a penalty before any penalty would be incurred by an individual participant.

To ensure maximum performance for those investing in safety and return-to-work accommodation, we do put companies on notice if they have two negative years while we work to identify any trends in their losses and provide them with resources to help them improve their safety programs. We have also disqualified firms in order to protect the integrity of the group and ensure continued peak performance.

AGC has the most advanced temporary transitional light-duty services in the state and offers retraining programs for workers who cannot return to their job of injury. Click here for details.

As a member of AGCW Group Retro, you would be among companies that are serious about safety. Retro members must qualify to be included on the AGC Safety Team®. Safety Team® qualification involves a jobsite and paperwork audit to ensure that companies meet or exceed L&I safety standards. AGC Group Retro members must also have a return-to-work light-duty policy and agree to keep injured workers on salary for a minimum of thirty days, as well as work with AGC Group Retro claims consultants in a team approach to claims resolution. Members also meet at Retro Think Tank and annual events to discuss their current claims and exchange best loss-control practices. 

While kept-on-salary practices alone are not effective and must be accompanied by meaningful light-duty work accommodation, there are times when, due to the situation on a particular claim, AGCW does grant an exception to the kept-on-salary requirement.

Stringent underwriting is one of the key benefits of membership in AGC Group Retro. Complete underwriting criteria are:

• Must be an AGC of Washington member. However, Inland Northwest AGC members may contact Lauren Gubbe at 888.227.3876 and/or Stacy Mullane at 206.284.0061 for criteria and consideration for AGC of Washington Retro membership.
• Must have an interview to asses the company’s commitment to
  – job-site safety and achievement of AGC Safety Team® membership;
  – working with injured employees on return-to-work issues;
  – working with AGC Retro and Safety Consultants to expedite resolution of claim and safety issues; and
  – implementation of a 30-day kept-on-salary practice, as well as a light-duty return-to-work policy for a minimum of 66 days (in line with the L&I Stay-at-Work reimbursement)
• An analysis of loss trends is provided for purposes of targeting safety efforts, and members will also receive resources and tools to assist them in reducing injury and/or occupational-disease claim frequency.
• The company’s three-year L&I loss-history report is reviewed for premium and loss trends. The report must be in-line with the AGC Group Retro underwriting criteria established by an independent insurance underwriter and the AGC Group Retro committee.
• AGC Safety Team® membership must be achieved within eleven months of enrollment qualification.
• The company must have a designated safety and claims contact person committed to work with AGC Safety and Group Retro consultants. This person is encouraged to attend AGC Group Retro meetings as well as Safety Forum events.
• Must complete the Application & Release form. This will enable us to obtain your L&I three-year Premium and Loss-History Report and provide you with the refund amounts you would have received had you been in the program. Additionally, this allows for review of your premium and loss trend to determine if your firm meets the underwriting criteria established by the independent underwriter and Group Retro Committee or if further review is indicated.
• If your company qualifies for enrollment, a one-time refundable $2,000 deposit is required. This deposit rolls over with each year you qualify for the AGCW Group Retro program and is refundable at the time of your final Group Retro adjustment in the AGC plan.
• All AGCW Retro members must re-qualify each year, based on achievement of AGCW Safety Team® membership, three-year premium and developed loss-history trends, light-duty and thirty-day kept-on-salary efforts, and coordination and cooperation with AGC Group Retro and Safety staff regarding claims and safety issues.
• When re-qualifying, companies put on notice for performance have a full year to address any disqualification action. Unusual claim circumstances, L&I adjudication, etc. are taken into consideration when underwriting, and these issues may be reviewed with the independent underwriter and the Group Retro Committee.