The California Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau said Thursday its governing committee has voted to authorize to submit a lower midyear pure premium rate filing to the California Department of Insurance.
The midyear filing will propose July 1, 2018, advisory pure premium rates that average $1.80 per $100 of payroll. This is 7.2% lower than the insurance commissioner’s approved average Jan. 1, 2018, advisory pure premium rate of $1.94 and 19.0% less than the industry average filed pure premium rate as of Jan. 1, 2018, of $2.22, the WCIRB said in a statement.
The lower midyear pure premium rate filing is based on increases in claim settlement rates, a decline in lien filings and anticipated savings resulting from the new drug formulary, according to the statement.
An exodus of qualified medical evaluators could slow down and complicate the resolution of disputed workers compensation claims in California, according to experts.