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Rising indemnity, severity cited in proposed 16.9% N.Y. comp rate plan

Posted On: Jun. 12, 2013 12:00 AM CST

Rising indemnity, severity cited in proposed 16.9% N.Y. comp rate plan

A proposal to raise New York workers compensation rates by 16.9% is based in part on increasing indemnity and medical claim severity, according to the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board.

The board submitted a rate filing to the state's Department of Financial Services last month and recently posted details of the filing online.

If approved, the rate increase would be effective Oct. 1.

In its rate filing, the NYCIRB noted that indemnity claim severity has risen 2% from 2007 to 2011, while medical severity has jumped 4.9% during that period.

As noted by the board last month, the filing shows that 4.5% of the requested 16.9% increase is related to the state's plan to close a reopened case fund for which payers are currently assessed in New York. A plan to increase minimum weekly benefits is expected to increase total workers comp claim costs by 0.4%, the state agency said.

Both changes are part of workers comp reforms that were part of New York state's 2013-14 budget.

New York's Financial Services Department has set a June 25 public hearing on the proposed comp rate increase.