Ohio AEO — Alternate Employer Organization

Workers’ Compensation Reimagined For Ohio Employers

Alloy Employer Services is an Alternative Employer Organization (AEO) approved and regulated by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) to help employers maintain proper workers’ compensation coverage, manage claims, and support payroll, compliance, and employee benefits in accordance with Ohio law.

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What Is an Ohio Alternate Employer Organization?

A Different Approach to Workers’ Compensation in Ohio

Ohio’s workers’ compensation system operates differently than most states. Employers cannot purchase workers’ compensation coverage through private carriers, which makes cost control and claims strategy especially important.

An Alternative Employer Organization (AEO) offers Ohio employers a more strategic way to manage workers’ compensation exposure while maintaining their existing business identity and operational structure. Alloy’s AEO model combines claims oversight, payroll alignment, compliance support, and employee-focused risk management into one integrated solution.

The result is a more proactive approach to controlling workers’ compensation costs while supporting workforce performance and long-term business stability.

How the Ohio AEO Model Works

Built for Employers That Want More Control and Better Outcomes

Alloy’s AEO model is designed to help employers move beyond passive workers’ compensation administration and toward a more engaged, performance-driven strategy.

What Changes With Alloy?

Your EIN Remains Yours

Your payroll tax reporting and employee records stay connected to your business. Employees continue to identify with your company, and operational continuity remains intact.

Claims Oversight Becomes Proactive

Alloy actively manages claims from first report through resolution with a focus on reducing claim duration, supporting return-to-work strategies, and minimizing unnecessary cost escalation.

Payroll and Workers’ Compensation Align

Payroll reporting, classification support, and workers’ compensation administration work together in a more coordinated framework, helping reduce reporting errors and administrative friction.

Ohio Compliance Support Is Integrated

Alloy helps employers navigate Ohio-specific workers’ compensation requirements, payroll classifications, audits, and related administrative responsibilities with experienced internal support.

Cost Control With Pay-As-You-Go Alignment

Alloy’s integrated pay-as-you-go approach helps align workers’ compensation costs more closely with actual payroll activity throughout the year. This creates stronger cash flow visibility, reduces large premium swings, and supports more predictable budgeting for CFOs and financial leaders focused on controlling labor-related risk and operating expenses.

Learn more about AEO’s on the Ohio BWC website.

Workers’ Compensation Managed With Accountability

A More Active Approach to Cost Control

Traditional workers’ compensation programs often become reactive. Claims enter the system, costs rise over time, and employers have limited visibility into the process.

Alloy takes a more hands-on approach focused on:

Faster claim response and oversight
Early intervention strategies
Return-to-work coordination
Experience modifier improvement opportunities
Long-term cost reduction initiatives
Workforce health and prevention strategies through Total Risk Shield

Potential Outcomes for Employers

Reduced workers’ compensation costs
Improved claims performance
Better visibility into claim activity
Stronger alignment between operations, payroll, and risk management
Reduced administrative burden on internal teams

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Ohio AEO vs. PEO vs. State Fund

Understanding the State Fund

Ohio employers comparing their options typically look at three structures. Here is how they differ in practice.

Ohio State Fund The default for most Ohio employers. Premiums are calculated by the BWC. Claims are processed through the state system. Employers in group rating programs may see discounts based on industry-wide experience, but individual claim management is largely passive. Once a claim enters the system, the employer has limited influence over how it develops.

Professional Employer Organization (PEO) A PEO enters a co-employment relationship and moves your employees onto its own EIN. Workers' compensation may be bundled through the PEO's state fund policy or, if the PEO is self-insured, through its own program. The tradeoff is that your payroll tax identity transfers to the PEO. IRS notices go to them. Your employees' income is reported under a company name that is not yours.

Ohio Alternate Employer Organization (AEO) The AEO model delivers the cost advantages of a self-insured co-employment structure while allowing your business to operate under its own EIN. You maintain your corporate identity and operational control, while Alloy assumes co-employer liability. Workers’ compensation is administered through a self-insured fund with direct oversight of claims management and resolution. The entire arrangement is regulated by the Ohio BWC, which retains full authority to audit compliance at any time.

For Ohio employers primarily focused on reducing workers’ compensation costs and improving claims outcomes, the AEO model represents the most efficient and transparent structure available.

What Alloy Supports Within the AEO Relationship

Integrated Support Through Total Risk Shield

Claims management. Every claim from first report through return-to-work, managed in-house with no outside administrators.

Experience modification monitoring. Your EMR is tracked continuously. We identify problem claims early and intervene before reserves grow.

Ohio BWC compliance. DFSP enrollment, group retro evaluation, payroll classification, audit preparation, and BWC correspondence handled on your behalf.

Payroll tax reporting under your EIN. All filings go out under your Employer Identification Number, consistent with AEO requirements under ORC 4133.

Wellness integration. Delivered through Total Risk Shield as a connected component of your overall risk program, not an add-on.

Which Ohio Employers Benefit Most From the AEO Model?

The AEO structure tends to produce the strongest results for Ohio employers who meet most of the following:

Annual workers' compensation premiums of $10,000 or more. A claims history that has pushed the experience modifier above 1.0. Operations in a physically demanding or high-risk industry. A desire for direct claims oversight without building an internal risk management department. Frustration with passive claims handling through the state fund or a group rating program.

Industries where Alloy's AEO clients operate include manufacturing, construction and trades, logistics and transportation, healthcare and skilled nursing, delivery service providers, HVAC, and commercial cleaning. Alloy can serve nearly all industries looking to manage risk better.

Employers that value proactive risk management, operational alignment, and long-term cost control often benefit most from Alloy’s AEO approach

Real-World Results

Alloy's clients are seeing it in the numbers. A commercial roofing company reduced workers' compensation premiums by 36 percent in a single year. A delivery service provider saved $140,000 annually, with over $103,000 of that coming from FICA tax savings through the wellness program. These are not projections. They are documented outcomes from businesses that made the switch.

Commercial Roofing Company

36% workers’ comp premium reduction
195 out of 212 employees enrolled in wellness
$324,000 saved in 2024

Delivery Service Provider

66% workforce qualified for wellness
$103,866 in FICA tax savings
$140,000 total annual savings

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AEO Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about the Ohio AEO model.

What happens to my current BWC policy when I join an AEO?

Your existing policy transitions as part of the onboarding process. Alloy manages the BWC coordination, including any outstanding claims from your prior policy period.

Can I keep my payroll provider?

Ohio law requires that payroll within an AEO relationship be processed through a qualified payroll service, either through the AEO directly or through an approved vendor. Alloy will walk through this as part of the evaluation process.

How long does it take to see premium savings?

Some savings are immediate at the point of transition. The larger gains compound over time as your experience modifier rate improves through better claims outcomes across multiple policy years.

Built for High-Risk Industries

The AEO model is designed for companies in construction and trades, delivery services, logistics and transportation, skilled nursing and healthcare, light manufacturing, maintenance, cleaning and more

If your business runs on hourly labor and workplace injuries are a recurring cost, this model was built around your situation.

Delivery Service Providers

From trucking and warehouse operations to Amazon delivery service partners, Alloy manages workers' compensation risk for the people who keep America's supply chain moving.
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Healthcare & Nursing

Alloy has worksites in over 30 states with healthcare providers, from skilled nursing facilities to ambulance EMTs.
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Manufacturing

From production lines to warehouse teams, Alloy manages workers' compensation risk for the employees who drive the manufacturing industry. Learn More

Construction & Trades

Workers who build and repair infrastructure face an array of workplace safety challenges. Our risk management team can assess risk exposure and address underwriting and compliance concerns to achieve better workers' compensation outcomes.
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Commercial Cleaners

From taking care of warehouses and retail stores to hotels, corporate offices and factories, these businesses keep many of the businesses in America operational and functional.
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