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Calif. workers compensation bureau seeks midyear rate increase

Posted On: Apr. 5, 2012 12:00 AM CST

Calif. workers compensation bureau seeks midyear rate increase

SAN FRANCISCO—The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California said Wednesday that it will seek a midyear increase in workers comp advisory rates in the state.

The San Francisco-based WCIRB said it will ask this month for an average pure premium rate of $2.51 per $100 of payroll. That's up 7.7% from a rate of $2.33 per $100 of payroll in WCIRB's Jan. 1 rate filing.

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones approved an advisory pure premium rate filing of $2.30 per $100 of employer payroll in November.

The WCIRB's upcoming rate filing is expected to be submitted April 13 to the California Department of Insurance and would be effective July 1.

The bureau said the filing is based on a recent review by its Actuarial Committee, which noted that California has seen increased indemnity claim frequency and “ongoing escalation in several key system cost drivers.”

“The continued deterioration in the indication since the last filing was largely due to increases in loss development on the 2010 accident year, increasing allocated loss adjustment costs, and lower forecasts of wage growth in the still-sluggish California economy,” the bureau said in a statement.