Experts Say Comp Market Is Hardening

By Greg Jones, Western Bureau ChiefThe long soft market cycle for workers' compensation insurance has ended and the market will continue to harden through 2012, leading to higher rates for employers as carriers become more selective about their exposure, according to insurance industry experts.Since early 2005, employers have benefited from a highly competitive market that kept premiums artificially low. Insurers charged less in premium than was necessary to cover losses and earned diminishing returns on investments, leading to increasing loss cost ratios throughout the country.The Workers...