CompQuotes | Summer 2024

Ivans download is now live!

Ivans download services are now live for SAIF agents. A recent program pilot included a small number of agencies representing various demographics and utilizing different agency management platform vendors, including Applied, Vertafore, Hawksoft, and Dyad (Nexsure).

Thank you to all agencies who responded that they are currently using Ivans. We are pleased to report that nearly 85% of you have opted into download services. Agencies currently receiving download services are those that communicated to us earlier that they wanted to receive policy data, eDocs, and/or direct bill commission statements via download and provided us with their Ivans account information.

On May 31, SAIF transmitted the first month of direct bill commissions through the Ivans exchange, and on June 21, policy data and eDocs transmission began.

The download for policy data and eDocs is sent in a daily overnight process and is available to agents the next day. Direct bill commission statements are downloaded monthly and available to agents via the download process on the first day of the month.

If you are not receiving Ivans download from SAIF but would like to, please email your agency marketing specialist with your Ivans Y-Account number, Ivans user ID, and which of the three download services (policy data, eDocs, commission) you would like. Once we have your Ivans information, we will send you the implementation guide to get started.

If you have questions, please contact your agency marketing specialist, Brooke Leader, Erika Meier, or Tami Coxen.

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SAIF/AGC group product has been approved

SAIF has received filing approval from the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) for a new premium volume discount table that will be used for Associated General Contractors (AGC) members who meet the underwriting criteria.

The AGC Group Retro portion of the Partnership Incentive Plan (a group retrospectively rated product) has seen inconsistent and low retro returns over the past five years, primarily due to the continuing decrease in pure premium rates. With support from AGC, this new AGC Services discount table will be utilized on a guaranteed cost plan, replacing the existing group retrospectively rated plan effective October 1, 2024.  

This new AGC Services discount table will be used in conjunction with the AGC Oregon Group Supplemental Experience Rating Program (OGSERP) for those members that meet the AGC OGSERP underwriting criteria (Associated General Contractors - AGC (saif.com)). The new premium discount table will also be available for all AGC members who participate in the AGC Services even if they do not participate or qualify for the AGC OGSERP. To receive the new premium discount table, SAIF policyholders must be AGC members and have construction class codes as their principal class code. 
 
The new premium volume discount table is more favorable than our general premium volume discount table. It is made possible primarily due to the historical ease of collecting premium from AGC members and other insurance services provided by AGC.

Please continue to encourage your AGC members to keep participating in the non-disabling reimbursement (NDR) program, especially through the close of the current retro plan (September 30, 2024), as they will still receive all NDR reimbursements back when that plan year is evaluated on June 30, 2025. As a reminder, in most circumstances, participating in the non-disabling reimbursement program can also help the individual policyholder’s experience rating—especially policyholders seeking to maintain an experience rating below 1.0—and will also benefit the AGC OGSERP.
 
Training on the new product and nondisabling claims was held on June 25, 2024, and the recording is available for viewing. This FAQ document has been made available to AGC members.

We are completing the development of the 2024/2025 AGC product materials to be available online on August 1. To view the product information, you will log into your SAIF Business Online account, choose Competitive Resources in the left-side navigation, and then select AGC/SAIF Product.

If you have questions about the SAIF/AGC product, contact Lyn Zielinski-Mills, marketing and groups director, at lynzie@saif.com or 503.373.8806.

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Introducing SAIF’s new VP of premium audit and underwriting

Rachel Shepherd has been selected as SAIF’s new VP of premium audit and underwriting, effective July 1. Rachel joined SAIF in 2022 as our director of project and change management. She brings more than 15 years of experience in people leadership and team development in multiple organizations and industries, including most recently, the Oregon Lottery.

“Rachel has proven herself to be an empathetic and effective leader, with an ability to connect with people,” said Todd Graneto, chief financial officer at SAIF. “She has a history of successfully building and improving programs and processes, which she will bring to this new role.”

Rachel holds a bachelor's degree in management and organizational leadership from George Fox University and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Colorado State University Global. She is a lifelong learner with professional certificates in customer experience, project management, and change management.

Rachel looks forward to working with you in her new role! Contact her at racshe@saif.com.

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2024 Pricing recap: Preferred pricing for select policyholders

Our 2024 rate filings support SAIF’s commitment to its mission to serve Oregon’s workers and employers by making workers’ compensation coverage widely available, affordable, and accessible and by providing extraordinary service.

With our recent 1/1/24 and 7/1/24 filings, SAIF will have more competitive pricing for many policies written in our service center. In addition to policies written in our service center, SAIF made no changes to our rate tiers from our 1/1/23 rate filing. This means that with NCCI's average pure rate decrease of 6.7%, SAIF's pricing will likely be more competitive on accounts written in both the region and service center.

As a reminder, the agency commission levels on all new sales are increased by 4% for the first term written as new business to SAIF.

Here is a recap of our 1/1/2024 rate filing, which provides improved pricing on non-rated and claims-rated policies written in the SAIF service center.

• Non-rated policies will be priced in Tier E (previously Tier F). This equates to an 8.5% rate load factor reduction.
• Claims-rated policies will now be priced in Tier D or Tier E (previously Tier F). This equates to an 8.5% rate load reduction for policies moving to Tier E and a 14.7% rate load reduction for those policies that are eligible to be written in Tier D.

An additional rate filing was approved, providing an opportunity for preferred pricing on select class codes for new and renewing policies effective July 1, 2024. The principal class codes listed below may receive preferred pricing (up to a two-tier reduction). The class codes were carefully chosen based on a consistent pattern of favorable performance.

Get your submissions entered into SaifQuote now. If you have additional questions, please contact your agency marketing specialist or the service center at servicecenter@saif.com.

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SAIF’s Bend office is open by appointment only

SAIF’s Bend office, located in suite 103 at 999 SW Disk Drive, is now open by appointment only. This change is meant to provide customers with resources that best meet their needs when they come to the office. To schedule an appointment in Bend, please call the appointment scheduling line at 541.383.2956.

Many customer office visits involve drop-off payments, payroll records, or other documents. For customer convenience, a secure lockbox has been installed next to the front door and is accessible Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

If you have questions about Bend regional services, please contact Scott E. Clark, regional operations director, at 541.383.2277 or scoecla@saif.com.

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Payment platform updates delayed

Due to vendor issues, we are postponing the implementation of updates to our online payment platform.

SAIF has made significant progress and will continue to work with the vendors to ensure the success of this transition. We want to make sure we get it right.

When we go live, One Inc. will bring many benefits to our customers and partners, including the ability to make payments using only a policy number and mailing address zip code. Customers can also split payments between two credit cards and use an interactive phone system to make payments.

Please watch for more information as we work through issues. Once a new implementation timeline has been determined, we will communicate it. 

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We want to hear your feedback

We want to hear from agents and policyholders about their experiences interacting with SAIF. Important feedback from our policyholders and external business partners is essential for us to maintain a high level of customer service and continually improve the experience of doing business with SAIF.

As part of our work on customer experience at SAIF, we are collecting feedback in a centralized database. Using the Feedback link on saif.com is an effective way for agents and policyholders to let us know what is going well and not so well when interacting with SAIF. This feedback will be used to identify and prioritize our areas of focus.

We recently added a new tool to assist agents and policyholders, focusing on how SAIF can learn more about how to improve the premium audit experience. In addition to the Feedback link, a QR code has been added to audit documents sent to policyholders and agents. This QR code can be used to report all feedback regarding SAIF’s audit process.

If you have additional questions regarding how best to communicate with SAIF to provide important feedback, please contact your agency marketing specialist, Brooke Leader, Erika Meier, or Tami Coxen.

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Save the date for the 2025 Workers’ Comp Seminar

The annual workers’ comp seminar will be held at SAIF’s Salem office on April 3, 2025. Registration information will be emailed out in early 2025.