Workers compensation premiums are declining as continued rate decreases more than offset the impacts of continued economic growth in California, yet the state’s premium rates remain high compared with other states despite recent rate reductions, according to a report released Monday by the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California.
The state is expected to see $15.7 billion in written premium by the end of the year, a drop from the $17 billion reported in 2018 and the $17.7 billion reported in 2017, according to the report issued by the Oakland, California-based agency.
Meanwhile, the report shows that average insurer rates are down a third since 2015 and two-thirds since 2003 and that the current charged rates are at “the lowest level in a decade and are lower than rates charged since the mid-1970s, as long-term declining claim frequency and increasing wage levels have offset long-term increases in medical costs.”
However, California rates, while no longer the top in nation, “still remain high” and are “well above the national median” as shown in a 2018 report by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services.
Other highlights include:
The number of independent medical review determination letters calling for review of treatment denials and modifications issued in California peaked to 184,733 in 2018, 7.3% more than in 2017 and 28.4% more than in 2014, when the California Workers’ Compensation Research Institute starting tracking them to study the review process.