Regulators Raise Rates 9.3%, Citing Old Reforms That Actually Increased Costs

New York regulators have approved a 9.3% rate hike in workers’ compensation premiums, citing the support of a pro-business group whose members will bear the burden of increased costs. The state Department of Financial Services approved the hike late Friday and said it was supported by the Business Council of New York State, the state’s largest employer association, and was necessary because 2007 legislative reforms had driven up system costs. The New York Workers’ Compensation Alliance decried the rate increase as a money grab for insurers, but the business council...