Calif. workers compensation insurer premiums increase to $8.3B

SAN FRANCISCO—Workers compensation insurers’ written premiums in California increased to about $8.30 billion during the first nine months of 2011, according to a Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California report released Thursday.

California’s average insurer rate, meanwhile, rose to $2.37 per $100 of payroll for policies written during the first nine months of the year. That is up about 2% over the same period in 2010, but 62% below the average rate charged during the second six months of 2003, according to the WCIRB’s third-quarter insurer results report.

San Francisco-based WCIRB also estimated insurers’ ultimate accident-year 2010 combined loss and expense ratio at 130%, unchanged from 2009.

The report is available here.