Masonry Magazine June 1986 Page. 28
WORKERS COMPENSATION
necessarily the leaders by the time September rolls around. Most of the classifications have substantial national credibility, even if they are not fully credible in every state. That is to be expected. Some industries are confined to a handful of states; some states have a small population of industries.
All classifications with the exception of the Standard Exceptions to be described below, are called basic classifications. Each is assigned a four-digit code number. Basic classifications can describe the manufacture of a product (airplane engine manufacturing), a process (engraving), a construction operation (masonry), a general kind or character of business (hardware store), or a service (beauty parlor).
NCCI publishes two listings of the classifications, the Basic Manual for Workers Compensation and Employer Liability Insurance and the Classification Code Book. In the first publication, the classifications are listed alphabetically; in the second, numerically and by industry schedules and groups.
The standard exception classifications of clerical office employees, drivers, chauffeurs, and their helpers and outside salespersons are prevalent in so many businesses that common classifications are assigned to them. Regardless of what the business may be, its clerical operations will be more like those of other unrelated businesses, than they will be to whatever activities take place on the shop floor, construction site, or sales area. Rather than include them in the basic classifications, they are most often assigned their own.
Each classification, regardless of what it contemplates, includes certain operations called, not surprisingly, General Inclusions. They are plant cafeteria operations, the manufacture of packing containers, medical facilities for employees, printing departments, and general maintenance work. At the same time, some operations, called General Exclusions, are not considered incidental to basic classifications. They are the operation of aircraft, new construction or alterations, stevedoring, and the operation of a saw mill.
The administration of the classification system is one of the most important functions of the National Council on Compensation Insurance. The data base which is used to prepare workers compensation rates can only be as good as the individual bits of data that make it up. If classifications are incorrectly assigned, loss experience begins to pile up in the wrong classifications and, no matter how carefully the sums are checked and rechecked, the rates will be wrong.
To prevent this from happening, or more realistically, to keep it to an absolute minimum, NCCI receives a copy of each policy. The classifications assigned are checked against the records of prior coverage for consistency and continuity. If something seems to be amiss, the insurance carrier is contacted and whatever action is appropriate will be taken.
But the verification process is not confined to paper work. NCCI also maintains an extensive inspection program, carried out by local field offices. Inspectors visit the premises of the insured to observe their operations first hand. Their reports are then reviewed by classifiers, who issue classification notices to the insurance carrier. In most cases, the inspections disclose no significant discrepancies.
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28 MASONRY-MAY/JUNE, 1986