More bad news for business on the “cost front”…
On August 13, just as we were wrapping up this issue of Business Briefs, the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau voted to put in place for 2015 an average increase in workers’ comp pure premium rates of 6.7%. This was over the opposition of labor and business representatives on the governing committee who thought a 1% increase would be enough.
The Bureau is a private organization financially supported mostly by insurance carriers, whose representatives also hold a majority of the voting positions on the Bureau’s Governing Committee and do not need the public members support to file new rates.
To make matters worse, this published rate increase filing is based on the increase over the advisory pure rates approved last year for 2014, but when compared with the average rates that carriers currently have on file, the average increase is actually 11.5%.
What can you do to ameliorate the expected 2015 increase in workers’ comp rates? Start NOW to pay consistent attention to your workplace-safety programs. Lowering your experience rating is one of the easiest and best programs you can undertake, and are
win-win for both employees and the companies that employ them.
The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.
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