Proposed Rate Decrease Welcomed, but Some Stakeholders Wary

Driven by a drop in lost-time claims, combined with lower average indemnity costs and a decrease in medical severity, the National Council on Compensation Insurance is recommending Illinois insurers reduce rates by 12.9%. Stakeholders say the decreases reflect the massive reforms made to the workers’ comp system in 2011, when the legislature trimmed the medical fee schedule by 30%. Since House Bill 1698 was enacted in 2011, the cumulative voluntary loss cost level is down 30.1% in Illinois and down 28.7% for the cumulative voluntary rate level. Those numbers reflect the latest fili...