Calif. Still No. 1 in Costs, With Familiar Partners at Top of Tier
Friday, October 14, 2016 | 3
California safely held its place as the most expensive state in the nation for workers' compensation insurance, while New Jersey and New York both moved up a notch to take Nos. 2 and 3, according to the Oregon Department of Business and Consumer Services annual premium ranking survey.
The biennial report compares average premiums in each state using a mix of 50 classification codes representative of Oregon's economy and is not an exact comparison. The Workers' Compensation Premium Ranking Summary nevertheless is widely used as the best possible cost benchmark for interstate comparisons.
California — which was ranked No. 3 in Oregon's 2012 report — clung to its No. 1 spot four years later even though its average premium cost dropped to $3.24 per $100 of payroll in 2016 from $3.48 in 2014. Costs did not exceed $3 in any other state in either the 2016 or 2014 reports, although New Jersey edged close this year at $2.92.
Nationally, there was little change among the states ranked in the top five in this year's report among those that were ranked in the top five and the bottom five in costs since the last report came out in 2014.
California, with an average premium cost of $3.24 per $100 of payroll in 2016, was No. 1 in both years. North Dakota, with an average cost 89 cents per $100 in the latest report, was No. 51. (The report includes the District of Columbia.)
In the top five, Connecticut — ranked No. 2 in 2014 — moved down to No. 5 in the latest report. It was tied with No. 5 Alaska, which held the same spot in the last benchmark report.
In the bottom five, Indiana remained the second-least expensive state, and Arkansas third. West Virginia moved into the fourth least-expensive position, replacing Virginia in that spot, which slipped to fifth place.
The national median cost was $1.84 per $100 of payroll, a penny less than in 2014. Pennsylvania and Alabama shared that middle point.
A few states made dramatic changes in their places in the ranking: Rhode Island took the No. 9 spot this year after ranking in the middle of the pack at 20 in 2014, while Delaware moved up to No. 6 after holding the No. 9 position in 2014 and the No. 30 position in 2012. Wisconsin moved to No. 12 from No. 23.
The Department of Business and Consumer Services used premium rates in effect for Jan. 1, 2016, to make the comparisons. The department found that 21 states had average premium costs within 10% above the national median, and 18 states within 10% below the median.
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