California's State Fund to lower workers comp rates

SAN FRANCISCO--California's State Compensation Insurance Fund on Monday said it will decrease its rates 5%, on average, for policies renewing in January.

California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said recently that State Fund rate reductions have a significant impact on the state's entire workers compensation market because other insurers adjust their pricing to follow the San Francisco-based fund's lead. On Nov. 17, the commissioner recommended that California's workers comp insurers reduce their pure premium rates by 2.2% for policies incepting Jan. 1.

State Fund President Dianne C. Oki said the rate decrease for policies renewing on or after Jan. 1 reflects the quasi-public insurer's commitment to pass on savings that it expects to derive from recent workers compensation reforms.