Falling Rates Make Golden State Less of an Outlier

Falling rates charged to employers in recent years have reduced the disparity in the cost of workers’ compensation coverage in California compared to other states, but if charged rates fully reflected the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s advisory loss costs, the Golden State would not sit atop the annual interstate premium comparison conducted by regulators in Oregon. Average charged rates per $100 of payroll dropped 15% from $3.04 at the start of 2015, to $2.58 in the first quarter of 2017, according to Dave Bellusci, chief actuary and executive vice pres...