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Know how much coverage costs

Know how much coverage costs

Your WorkSafeBC insurance premiums provide employers with protection from lawsuits related to worker compensation for work-related injuries and illnesses in B.C.

You can determine your premiums by using the following calculation:

(Industry’s base premium rate +/- your experience rating) x Your assessable payroll = Your total premiums

We describe each of the elements that make up your premiums below.

Your industry's base premium rate

When you register for WorkSafeBC insurance, you are assigned to a classification unit based on the products you produce, the services you provide, and the processes, technology, or materials you use. Every classification unit has a base premium rate that reflects the historical cost of injuries for your industry.

Businesses with similar activities share your classification unit, and you all pay the same base premium rate. This puts you and your competitors on a level playing field.

To learn more about how we classify industries and employers, and the role classification plays in your base premium rate, see the following pages:

Your assessable payroll

To determine your premium, you multiply your firm’s net premium rate by your assessable payroll. Your assessable payroll is the total remuneration you paid your workers and any active shareholders. You report each employee’s remuneration up to the maximum assessable payroll per worker; the maximum assessable payroll changes each year and can be found in the current classification and rate list.

Learn more about how to report payroll and pay premiums.

Your firm's net premium rate

If your claim costs are lower than the average for similar-sized businesses in your rate group, you can earn discounts on your base premium rate — up to 50 percent over time. If you have higher-than-average claim costs, you may face surcharges of up to 100 percent over time. This discount or surcharge is called your experience rating adjustment. It is applied to your base premium rate to create the net premium rate, which is used to calculate your premium.

Learn more about how to reduce your premiums.

Example of how to calculate your premium

We use this formula to calculate your premium: (Industry’s base premium rate +/- your experience rating) x Your assessable payroll = Your total premiums.

So, if you are in a classification unit with a base premium rate of 3.00% and you’ve earned a 10% discount based on your claims history, your net premium rate will be 2.70%. If you have an annual assessable payroll of $100,000, you'll pay $2,700 in insurance premiums.

(3.00 – 10%) x $100,000 = $2,700

That's a savings of $300 due to your experience rating adjustment.