OMES-managed program will save $6 million in premiums
OKLAHOMA CITY — At a time when state agency budgets are shrinking, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services has produced savings of about $6 million for state agencies in the upcoming fiscal year through the self-insurance program managed by OMES Risk Management.
OMES anticipates most agencies will see reductions in premiums ranging from 6 percent to over 50 percent during what will be the third year for the Consolidated Workers’ Compensation Program.
The savings for agencies comes from reducing costs in workers’ compensation insurance premiums through the OMES program. The state will see an overall 22 percent reduction in its total workers’ compensation cost, a decrease from $27,839,085 in FY 2017 to $21,744,649 in FY 2018.
“OMES is always working to find solutions that have a positive impact on our partner agencies’ bottom lines. At this critical time with many agencies having to make tough budget decisions, I’m glad OMES was able to save agencies and taxpayers money through the competitive bidding process and by emphasizing loss prevention,” said Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology Preston L. Doerflinger.
“The program is bringing together the purchasing power of all state agencies, accident prevention training and a level playing field for vendors,” Doerflinger said. “As OMES Risk Management has provided consistent training and tools, we have seen many agencies successfully reduce accidents and their associated costs. As the program matures, we are able to bring better and better value to the state.”
With OMES Risk Management overseeing the program, Safety National Casualty Corp. provides an excess coverage policy and Gallagher Basset is the third-party administrator for claim handling. The State of Oklahoma’s program uses the brokerage service Marsh USA.
State agencies were provided their premium costs for FY 2018 earlier today. Among the factors that go into setting the premiums in addition to accident prevention training are prior incidents and payroll costs.
“As we collect more data, we’ll see more accurate adjustments,” said OMES Capital Assets Management Administrator Dan Ross, who oversees risk management. “We anticipate that with the economies of scale of all state agencies we’ll see more winners than losers. The Consolidated Workers’ Compensation Program is paying off by saving money for the state and taxpayers.”
Media Contact
MICHAEL BAKER
Director of Public Affairs
(405) 522-4265 | [email protected]