Flathead County’s general fund grew by $290,580 this month when the county received a rebate on its workers’ compensation insurance.

County Administrator Mike Pence said the county has participated in a retrospective rating premium program for the last few years. Because few claims were submitted to Liberty Northwest, via Western States Insurance — the county’s insurance agency — the county received the refund, Pence said.

County officials beefed up the safety training program for county employees several years ago and have continued with a strong program, he said.

“We’re running a pretty good safety program here and it’s paying off,” Pence said.

Pence and employees in the county’s human resources office meet twice a month to track workers’ compensation claims. When an incident is reported, the matter is reviewed and a determination of how the incident could have been prevented is made, he said. The goal is to “learn from the accidents that do happen” and adjust procedures as necessary to avoid repeat incidents, Pence said.

“Our effort has been for creating a proactive safety culture,” Pence said. “We appreciate all of our employees and managers for the work they do.”

The efforts of county employees and the change in state law “is saving the taxpayers significant dollars,” he said.

The county no longer is in the retrospective program, however. When the policy expired last Oct. 31, commissioners decided to enroll in the guaranteed premium option for workers’ compensation coverage.

Several factors came into play in that decision, Pence said, including the 2011 change to state law regarding workers’ compensation that resulted in lower premiums for the county, the county having less “wiggle room” in the retrospective program because of its good safety record and an excellent quote from Western States Insurance for the guaranteed option.

The county is paying $599,778 for workers’ compensation insurance for the current insurance year, which ends Oct. 31.

The guaranteed program doesn’t include the rebate feature, so the county won’t see any money refunded no matter how few claims it submits. But, Pence said, under the retrospective program if the county had a high number of claims in any given year, it would have had to pay more that particular year and that possibility no longer exists with the guaranteed program.

For the last seven years, the county has paid an average of $800,000 a year for workers’ compensation coverage, Pence said. The county spent $868,369 in 2010-11, $743,552 in 2009-10 and $876,000 in 2005-06. The insurance year doesn’t align with the county’s fiscal year, which is from July 1 to June 30.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.