Comp Rates to Drop 15%

Tuesday, March 27, 2018 | 0

Workers' compensation rates for most Arkansas employers will drop about 15%, thanks in large part to fewer workplace injuries over the last two years, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Monday.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson

The National Council on Compensation Insurance recommended a 15.4% reduction for the voluntary market and a 14.9% reduction for the assigned-risk pool. State Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr adopted the recommendation.

“Arkansas companies already pay the lowest premium for workers' compensation insurance of any state in the country,” Hutchinson said. “This cut in costs leaves more money in employers’ pockets."

This is the eighth straight year that workers' compensation costs have decreased in Arkansas, and it is the largest reduction in 20 years, Hutchinson said. Coupled with an 8.3% decrease in 2017, Arkansas’ rates have fallen significantly in two years.