NCCI Recommending 10.3% Decrease in Voluntary Rates
Monday, August 28, 2017 | 0
The National Council on Compensation Insurance is recommending a 10.3% decrease in workers’ compensation rates for West Virginia, which would mark the 13th-straight year that rates have declined.
NCCI is recommending an 8.7% decrease for the assigned risk market.
“This rate reduction will really help businesses in our state,” Gov. Jim Justice said in a press release. “When you look at the strides we’ve made over the past 13 years to lower workers’ compensation premiums, it is impressive how far we’ve come. This is great news for employers and will translate into more jobs for West Virginians.”
The proposed rate decrease, set to take effect on Nov. 1, would mark a 67.3% cumulative reduction in loss cost levels for the voluntary market since 2006. The governor's office said the cumulative reduction amounts to 72% when all 13 years of rate reductions are taken together.
NCCI said in a State Advisory Forum presentation last week that West Virginia claim frequency has continued to decline, while medical and indemnity are increasing only modestly. From 2008 to 2015, lost-time claim frequency declined a cumulative 39.7%, including a 9.8% reduction in 2015.
Average lost-time claim cost during the same period increased 14.6%, from $14,000 in 2008 to $16,100 in 2015.
The rate reduction comes at time when West Virginia wages have declined, especially in the coal mining industry. NCCI said West Virginia wages dropped 0.4% in 2016, compared to a 1.2% increase for the nation as a whole. In the past year, coal mining wages have dropped by more than 7%, NCCI said.
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