2018 Premium rates

Building on a 6.2 per cent reduction to the average premium rate in 2017, the WSIB has made a further 3.3 per cent reduction to the average premium rate for 2018. This brings the total cumulative reduction to the average premium rate since 2016 to 9.3 per cent.

The reduction will bring the average 2018 premium rate down to $2.35 for every $100 of insurable earnings from $2.43 in 2017.

The WSIB 2018  annual insurable earnings maximum is $90,300 compared to $88,500 in 2017. Changes to the Maximum Insurable Earnings Ceiling are directly linked to changes in average earnings in Ontario as measured by Statistics Canada, and provisions under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.

The WSIB is funded solely by premium revenue. When setting premium rates for 2018, we incorporated costs for legislation related to chronic mental stress (CMS). We did so by considering the number of traumatic mental stress and PTSD claims across each industry class over the past 10 years. 

Were we to distribute these costs at the rate group level, some groups would see substantial premium rate increases. 

In order to ensure stability at the rate group level, we have:

  • only required increases that relate to CMS legislation
  • capped increases at 5 per cent
  • allowed decreases up to 7.6 per cent

Read our  Q&A on CMS and 2018 premium rates (pdf).

Detailed rate group info

2018 Premium rate manual

Every year, we publish a Premium Rates Manual. This manual lists the current year's premium rates and describes, with extensive supporting documentation, how we determine these rates for each rate group. Tables for each rate group show

  • a six-year history and two-year projection of injury rates, insurable earnings and other related information
  • premium rate components, including cost of new claims, overhead expenses, and unfunded liability
  • a breakdown of overhead costs, including legislative and related health and safety obligations

The 2018 Premium Manual is broken down into three parts, each containing a number of sections. You can view a description of what is contained within each section.

Section  Description
2018 Premium Rate Manual Part 1 (PDF) Section 1- Introduction
Section 2- Definition of 2018 Premium Rate Components
Section 3- Summary of Allocation Rules
Section 4- 2018 Premium Rates for Each Rate Group, by Class
Section 5- 2018 Premium Rates For Each Classification Unit, by Class
2018 Premium Rate Manual Part 2 (PDF) Section 6- Supporting Documentation for Each Class
Section 6A- Class A- Forest Products
Section 6B- Class B- Mining and Related Industries
Section 6C- Class C- Other Primary Industries
Section 6D- Class D- Manufacturing
Section 6E- Class E- Transportation and Storage
Section 6F- Class F- Retail and Wholesale Trades 
Section 6G- Class G- Construction
Section 6H- Class H- Government and Related Services
Section 6I- Class I- Other Services
2018 Premium Rate Manual Part 3 (PDF) Section 7- Supporting Documentation for Schedule 1
Section 8- Classification Scheme Changes
Section 9- Non-Credible Rate Groups
Section 10- Glossary of Acronyms
Section 11- Contact Information

2018 Premium backgrounders

For each rate group, you can download a one page backgrounder with detailed information about your 2018 rate, compared to your 2017 rate. You can search for this information in the table.