What an EMR of 0.68 actually means, and why most owners read it wrong

Every prequalification form asks for it, every contractor puts it in the pitch, and almost nobody explains what it is. An experience modification rate is a multiplier applied to a contractor’s workers compensation premium, calculated from three years of claims against what the insurer expected for a firm of that size in that trade.

1.0 is average, not good

A rate of 1.0 means a firm had exactly the claims experience expected. Below 1.0 is better than expected. Ours is 0.68. Above 1.0 is worse, and many owners will not let a contractor on site above 1.0, which is a reasonable line to draw.

The trap: size distorts it

Small firms swing wildly. A single serious injury can push a twenty-person contractor from 0.8 to 1.4 and it stays there for three years, which tells you very little about how they run a site today. Read the rate alongside headcount and the three-year claim detail, and ask what changed.

What to ask instead

Ask how many times their own staff stopped work last year. A firm that cannot answer does not measure it, and a firm that answers zero is either very small or not counting.