Commissioner Says Rate Hike a Warning of Growing Costs

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the first rate increase in a decade should serve as a warning of increasing workers' compensation costs. "After more than a decade of steady or decreasing rates, this year, the data supports an increase in the average advisory pure premium rate," Lara wrote in a letter to the governor and leaders of the Senate and Assembly on Tuesday. "My order with regard to the average advisory pure premium rate reflects an early warning of growing costs in the workers' compensation system that may need further study to info...