sub it out

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Rewire

Senior Member
we have been subbing out our excavating to remove that classification from our workmans comp. We require a CI from our sub. I cant think of anything else we could sub to save on WC . Any thoughts?
 

Cow

Senior Member
Location
Eastern Oregon
Occupation
Electrician
we have been subbing out our excavating to remove that classification from our workmans comp. We require a CI from our sub. I cant think of anything else we could sub to save on WC . Any thoughts?

No excavating at all? Like no shoveling, no ditchwitching, no trackhoe?
 

Hv&Lv

Senior Member
Location
-
Occupation
Engineer/Technician
Wow... Seems like some posts are being deleted or reviewed as I type..
Aren't Electricians in a 0601 risk category? I fail to see how the rates go down unless you were placed in a different category.
Overexertion claims are more frequent and cost more than crush in equipment injuries.
 
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Hv&Lv

Senior Member
Location
-
Occupation
Engineer/Technician
4160V highline work.

4160 isn't highline work.
I work on 25kV everyday and it isn't considered highline work either...
I guess technically my handle should be Mv&Lv

I just don't understand how you can say we aren't going to dig with a machine that is easier on the body and your rates go down. I would think once you are in a risk category the rates are set until you are placed into another category.
 
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sbrn33

Member
Location
nebraska
our first policy we were being classified for everything including 4160V highline work.

You need to find a decent insurance agent. My WC didn't even change when we bought this last 40 foot bucket truck. Are you sure you are not making this up.
 

Rewire

Senior Member
For some reason you are avoiding the questions.

Do you have an excavator?

What category are you in and how would your rates go down?

we have someone excavate for us , by not having that classification our rate is adjusted accordingly if we did our own excavating we would have to pay for that classification.Now you dont have to tell the insurance carrier you do your own excavation but if you have an injury and they see you did not carry the classification they can back charge you for it. Now if you are a roll the dice type company go for it but I will not allow our business to be put at risk of potentially thousands of dollars in charges for not being truthful with our carrier. You can do work out of your classification anf your workers will still be covered your carrier will simply go after youm for the added costs. We run an above board business so when we did excavating we had that classification and we paid exrtra now we removed it because we sub the work and we no longer pay for it that is how our rate goes down.
 

Hv&Lv

Senior Member
Location
-
Occupation
Engineer/Technician
we have someone excavate for us , by not having that classification our rate is adjusted accordingly if we did our own excavating we would have to pay for that classification.Now you dont have to tell the insurance carrier you do your own excavation but if you have an injury and they see you did not carry the classification they can back charge you for it. Now if you are a roll the dice type company go for it but I will not allow our business to be put at risk of potentially thousands of dollars in charges for not being truthful with our carrier. You can do work out of your classification anf your workers will still be covered your carrier will simply go after youm for the added costs. We run an above board business so when we did excavating we had that classification and we paid exrtra now we removed it because we sub the work and we no longer pay for it that is how our rate goes down.

So you are saying that you were excavating in a 0101 Excavation, Road Construction, Land Clearing, NOC rate?
Do you also work under a 0510 Wood Frame Building Construction rate when you nail a board onto a stud for boxes?
 

Rewire

Senior Member
So you are saying that you were excavating in a 0101 Excavation, Road Construction, Land Clearing, NOC rate?
Do you also work under a 0510 Wood Frame Building Construction rate when you nail a board onto a stud for boxes?

don't shoot the messenger this is just how it came from our carrier if you are in business and want to make sure you are carrying the proper classifications and not classified where you do not work sit down with your agent that is what we did and that saved us alot of premieum.
 

sbrn33

Member
Location
nebraska
we have someone excavate for us , by not having that classification our rate is adjusted accordingly if we did our own excavating we would have to pay for that classification.Now you dont have to tell the insurance carrier you do your own excavation but if you have an injury and they see you did not carry the classification they can back charge you for it. Now if you are a roll the dice type company go for it but I will not allow our business to be put at risk of potentially thousands of dollars in charges for not being truthful with our carrier. You can do work out of your classification anf your workers will still be covered your carrier will simply go after youm for the added costs. We run an above board business so when we did excavating we had that classification and we paid exrtra now we removed it because we sub the work and we no longer pay for it that is how our rate goes down.

I hate to call you out on this but you are talking out of your rear end. You haven't really even talked to an insurance agent have you. Hand digging and trenching are part of the trade. Now if the majority of your income comes from excavation things might be different but that is not what you are talking about are you.
Are you saying that I don't run an above board business?
 

Rewire

Senior Member
I hate to call you out on this but you are talking out of your rear end. You haven't really even talked to an insurance agent have you. Hand digging and trenching are part of the trade. Now if the majority of your income comes from excavation things might be different but that is not what you are talking about are you.
Are you saying that I don't run an above board business?

I dont even know for sure you even run a business as I do not know you personally what I do know is what saves our company money on premiums. Now believe it or don't believe it because it matters not to me what you do. If you are in business then maybe you need to sit down and have a talk with your agent . MEM which is the largest insurer in our state even offers classes on the subject to their members.
 

sbrn33

Member
Location
nebraska
OK, I will bite. What percentage did your insurer (MEM) tell you you would save by not doing any digging. This should be an easy question to answer since you already have done the research.
 

Cow

Senior Member
Location
Eastern Oregon
Occupation
Electrician
hand dig only.

I honestly can't imagine subbing it all out. Every time.

We get paid the same rate to run a shovel, ditchwitch, mini, as we do to install a recep, run conduit, etc. Sometimes it's a nice break from doing actual electrical work. The only time I balk at it, is when the customer has a lot of unmarked water lines, etc. Then I put pressure on them to do the excavating for me, so they're the ones to fix the broken pipes.

So it's safe to assume you wouldn't be able to auger and set wood poles either?
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
I sub all the machine work out as I rarely have need for it. I usually will get the builders to figure in the digging costs as thwey would rather not have us mark it up anyway. We will do light hand digging. I can hire extra help down at the mini mart for $10/hr to hand dig if I really needed to but have not done that yet.
 

sbrn33

Member
Location
nebraska
I sub a lot of it out myself. Especially if we are really busy, but that is not what rewire is saying. He is saying that he is saving on his WC insurance by not doing any excavation. He might save a little because his paid wages might go down but that is all unless he was classified wrong.
I understand that he might save on liability insurance but here again some excavation is included in the electrical classification.
I am asking what percentage of WC he is saving because I don't really thing he is saving anything unless he was misclassified.
Then he tries to bash me and my business. Good luck with that as I started in 94 as a one man shop and now have a nice business with almost no real debt. Oh and rewire, I have two trenchers, so I might know a tad about the insurance side of it.
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
I understand that he might save on liability insurance but here again some excavation is included in the electrical classification.
I am asking what percentage of WC he is saving because I don't really thing he is saving anything unless he was misclassified.
Then he tries to bash me and my business. Good luck with that as I started in 94 as a one man shop and now have a nice
business with almost no real debt. Oh and rewire, I have two trenchers, so I might know a tad about the insurance side of it.

my annual general liability review with my underwriter has them expressing a lot of
interest in trenching, provided it's deep enough to require either shoring or setbacks.

i just said i never go over 24" deep, and that dog went back to sleep.

then there is scaffolding, and roof work, and they want percentages of hours worked
in those occupancies... they have never asked for payroll, specific hours, or cost
coding.

as for WC in calif. when i've needed it, i've used state fund, and their percentages
go up the cheaper the labor is that i hire. their reasoning is twofold... lower paid
employees are generally less skilled and experienced, and more likely to have an
accident, and it takes a higher percentage of their wage to make a premium to cover
the risk.

the real problem with hiring in the golden state, is that it needs to be a state licensed
journeyman, or a state indentured apprentice.... and it's just not worth it for me to
start the tail wagging the dog... probably the hardest row i've seen to hoe is the five
man shop.... my hat is off to those who can do it.... all the compliance, without the
volume to make it seem worth while.

being a little one man band, without payroll, works for me.... with flat rate pricing,
i need 3 decent days a week, and i'm ok. i don't have a death march of jobs and i'm
not herding cats 14 hours a day. and i'm not making $400k a year, either.

to each his own....
 
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