Ohio proposes 20% average comp rate decrease

The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation has proposed a 20% reduction in the average premium rate it charges private employers.

This would be the bureau’s largest rate cut in nearly 60 years if approved by the agency’s board of directors at a Feb. 22 meeting, the bureau said in a statement on Thursday.

The rate reduction would be effective July 1 if approved and save private employers $244 million in premiums for fiscal year 2019, according to the statement. The proposed cut would follow a 12% reduction last year and a pattern of no increases since 2006.

Fewer workplace injuries and falling estimates of future medical costs are driving the recommendation to lower rates for the ninth time since 2008, said Stephanie McCloud, BWC administrator/chief executive officer. Employer participation in safety training, consultation and other services has grown by more than 70% since 2010 while claims have fallen 18% over that time to 85,136 in 2018, according to the statement.

Employer “efforts to promote safe and healthy workplaces are clearly paying off and they’re making it easier for us to maintain low and stable workers’ compensation rates now and into the future,” she said in the statement.