Rates to Drop For Third Straight Year

Monday, July 16, 2018 | 0

Most Wisconsin employers will see another drop in workers' compensation rates after the state insurance commissioner approved a rate reduction for the third straight year.

Commissioner Ted Nickel

The Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau recommended a 6.03% rate reduction last month and the commissioner of insurance approved it last week.

It goes into effect Oct. 1, and follows an 8.46% decline in 2017 and a 3.19% drop in 2016, the Department of Workforce Development announced.

The latest reduction is expected to save about $134 million annually for Wisconsin employers. Wisconsin already enjoys some of the lowest rates among upper Midwest states, the department said, although in 2016, the state was ranked 12th-highest in the nation by the Oregon biennial rate comparison.

Different lines of business will see different adjustments in their premiums, depending on their carrier, payroll and their experience modification. But a sampling of classification codes shows how some industries will be affected, according to a circular from the bureau: 

• Sawmills will drop, from $12.66 per $100 of payroll, to $12.42.
• Furniture manufacturing will drop, from $4.43 to $4.41.
• Metal goods manufacturing will drop, from $6.64 to $5.30.
• Automobile assembly, from $2.31 to $2.08.
• Machine shops, from $3.78 to $3.50.
• Carpentry shops, from $6.97 to $6.74.
• Printing will increase slightly, from $2.40 to $2.57.

The commissioner also approved a number of other adjustments, including an increase in the premium threshold for experience-rating eligibility, from $7,250 to $7,500, and an increase in per-claim accident limitation, from $233,500 to $241,000.

“A safe workplace results in a more productive and profitable one for employers," Commissioner of Insurance Ted Nickel said. "Employers are recognizing the relation between their employees' safety and the savings that ensue as premiums continue to decline."