FAQ

ROII is the state's largest, longest-operating Retro (Retrospective Rating) safety incentive program serving over 1,800 member companies all across Washington.

ROII covers all 71,363 square miles of Washington and offers personalized safety and prevention assistance. We understand how things work – right where you work.

ROII also directly supports all 14 home builders associations affiliated with BIAW within the state of Washington. So, by joining ROII, you're making a positive impact at your local association.

ROII has returned over $500 million since 1982. In 2022 alone, we returned over $33 million to member companies across the state. Our member companies earn an average refund of 38%. We have the highest 2020 1st adjustment refund of all our direct competitors, and we finished number one for the 2018-19 plan year.

The top-performing companies enrolled in the 2018-19 plan year received a total of 56% refunds on their L&I premium! And, over half of the ROII participants enrolled this year will get the 56%!

To view historical refunds on all construction retro groups, visit: https://bit.ly/3auvB5o

Each year, Labor and Industries (L&I) performs a total of three adjustments to determine a group's refund. Refunds can fluctuate from one adjustment to the next. It's not until L&I performs the final adjustment that a group knows their refund result - making it a completed plan year. Because ROII values transparency, we show our group refund results at each adjustment. We don't try to estimate company refunds on plan years that are not complete because that's ultimately what your refund is based upon.

Along with top-tier refunds, ROII offers unequaled outcome-based claims assistance, safety and prevention services, risk management services and return-to-work assistance. And all of our services are provided in-house, with no hidden fees (unlike some Retro programs that use additional fees to chip away at your bottom line—while adding to theirs.)

Our seasoned claim reps go straight to L&I on your behalf to get claims closed quicker. Rest assured; we'll keep a pulse on your claim every step of the way.

The best injury claim is the one that never happens. Because prevention is our top priority, we're here to help you develop and implement effective safety strategies.

Our job is to identify risk and assist you with implementing preventative measures to avoid claims from happening. If a claim does occur, we offer strategies to help control the severity and cost of the injury.

Our goal is to keep an injured worker engaged in the recovery process and connected with their employer to help ensure better outcomes. Each claim is unique, as is our customized return-to-work strategy approach.

• Have a positive reporting history with L&I
• Must have a current written safety plan
  1. This is not just an ROII requirement but is also required by L&I under WAC 296-800-14005. You can find a sample safety plan on L&I’s website
• Must complete underwriting questionnaire prior to the start of the plan year and a follow-up questionnaire every three years
• Must agree to modified duty and kept-on-salary (KOS) requirements (see Form 3b, section 5c and 5d)
• Owner must attend the ROII’s Intro to Retro class prior to the final L&I deadline for enrollment
• A current membership in BIAW through an affiliated local home builders association is required to enroll and receive refunds in ROII

• Have an open industrial insurance account with L&I
• Have filed all required reports, paid all industrial insurance premiums, penalties and interest (or be current with a repayment plan), and not owe a debt to any other section of the Department for the applying account (including sub-accounts) at the start of the plan year (July 1, October 1, January 1)
• Be a current BIAW member through a local home builders’ association
• Must separately enroll all sub-accounts that are construction-related (L&I requires construction-related subsidiary accounts to enroll)
• The primary nature of the business for applying account(s) must be “construction and related services”

The ROII plan year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year and the three subsequent annual adjustments, the first of which occurs roughly ten months after the plan year has ended. In total, a plan year lasts 46 months from start to finish. Member participants are required to continue paying their regular quarterly premiums directly to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) during the plan year.

After the plan year ends, the following April, L&I will calculate the first of three Retrospective premium adjustments. The ROII plan year refunds are based on what the group participants (your company and others) pay in Standard Premiums to L&I and Developed Losses that L&I charges the group for claims.

If the ROII group's Standard Premiums paid exceed its Developed Losses, L&I returns the excess money to the group sponsor. If Developed Losses exceed Standard Premiums paid, member participants may be assessed additional premiums.

Refund Timeline

Kept on Salary, or KOS, is a term coined by L&I that describes when the employer pays their injured employees' full wages (including benefits) when they are injured on the job because a doctor has certified that they can't work. Full wages (KOS) are paid regardless of the method of payment (hourly, salary or piece work) to prevent L&I from paying time-loss.

As a program requirement, ROII participants pay up to a maximum of 30 working days of KOS—30 days may happen consecutively or over the course of the claim. In addition to being a participation requirement, KOS is a cost control strategy that can also help you avoid an increase in your workers' comp premiums, maintain a claim-free discount and earn maximum Retro refunds.

Find out more from L&I

Medical restrictions may prevent your employee from returning to their regular job after a workplace injury. Light duty (or Modified Duty) is work you offer within your employee's medical restrictions, which they perform until they have a full release back to their pre-injury job.

As a program requirement, ROII participants provide modified or light duty work to their own injured employee and continue to pay them at their regular pre-injury wage. This requirement is separate from the KOS requirement, and the 30-day limit does not apply to light duty.

You may be eligible for reimbursements through the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries' (L&I) Stay at Work program for some of your base wages and expenses, such as training and tools related to the doctor-approved light-duty work.

NOTE: KOS wages paid to your injured worker is not eligible for reimbursements by L&I's 'Stay a Work program.'

Find out more from L&I