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Time & payroll / Experience Modification Rate (EMR) Calculator

Experience Modification Rate (EMR) Calculator

Your workers' comp experience modification rate compares your claims with what's expected for businesses like yours. Calculate it from your rating worksheet, see what one more claim would do, and what the mod costs or saves in premium.
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Enter a number of at least 0

From your experience rating worksheet: the losses expected for your payroll and class codes over the rating period.

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Enter a number of at least 0

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The part of each claim up to the split point, added up over the rating period.

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The part of each claim above the split point.

Enter a number from 0 to 1

From your worksheet. Larger employers have a higher W, so their excess losses count more.

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From your worksheet. A stabilizer that limits how much one claim can move a small employer's mod.

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Incurred cost of a possible new claim, to see its effect. 0 to skip.

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From your state's rating values table, shown on your worksheet.

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Your premium at a 1.00 mod, to see what your mod costs or saves.

Your experience mod
0.93
$2,100.00premium saved vs 1.00
1.26mod after a $30,000 claim
$9,900.00that claim's premium cost a year
Actual primary losses$9,000.00
Weighted actual excess · 0.12 × $15,000.00+$1,800.00
Stabilizing value · (1 − 0.12) × $28,000.00 + $25,000.00+$49,640.00
Total A (actual side)$60,440.00
Total B (expected + ballast) · $40,000.00 + $25,000.00$65,000.00
Experience mod (A ÷ B)0.93
With the new claim · $20,000.00 primary + $10,000.00 excess1.26

Primary losses count in full, so frequent small claims raise a mod more than one large claim of the same total. A claim stays in your mod for each rating year it falls in the experience period.

See breakdown

How the experience modification rate (EMR) calculation works

  1. Take the numbers from your worksheet

    Your experience rating worksheet lists expected losses, expected primary losses, your actual primary and excess losses, and the weighting (W) and ballast (B) values.

  2. Add up the actual side

    Actual primary $9,000 + W × actual excess (0.12 × $15,000 = $1,800) + (1 − W) × expected excess (0.88 × $28,000 = $24,640) + ballast $25,000 = $60,440.

  3. Add up the expected side

    Expected losses $40,000 + ballast $25,000 = $65,000.

  4. Divide

    $60,440 ÷ $65,000 = 0.93, a 7% credit. On a $30,000 base premium that saves $2,100 a year.

Worked example. With $40,000 of expected losses ($12,000 primary), $9,000 of actual primary and $15,000 of actual excess losses, W of 0.12 and ballast of $25,000, the mod is 0.93. One new $30,000 claim with a $20,000 split point would raise it to 1.26, costing $9,900 a year on a $30,000 base premium.

Experience Modification Rate FAQ

What is an experience modification rate (EMR)?

A factor that adjusts your workers' comp premium based on your claims compared with businesses of similar size in the same class codes. 1.00 is average; below 1.00 lowers your premium and above 1.00 raises it.

What is a good EMR rating?

Anything below 1.00 means your claims history is better than expected and earns a credit. Some project owners set a maximum mod for contractors who bid; it's stated in the bid documents.

How is the experience mod calculated?

Total A (actual primary losses + W × actual excess + (1 − W) × expected excess + ballast) divided by Total B (expected losses + ballast), rounded to two decimals. Your state's rating plan may add limits or caps, and some states use their own formula; your worksheet shows the exact one.

Why do small claims hurt my mod so much?

Primary losses (each claim up to the split point) count in full, while the excess part is weighted down. Many small claims are therefore costlier for your mod than one big claim of the same total.

Where do I find my worksheet?

Ask your insurance agent or insurer for your experience rating worksheet. It's produced by the rating organization for your state.

How long does a claim affect my mod?

Usually for each rating year whose experience period includes the policy year of the claim, which is typically three years. Check the period on your worksheet.

Sources: NYCIRB: New York Experience Rating Plan Manual, Rule 2 (formula and elements)

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