Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration announced on April 20 that the state’s workers’ compensation rates will rise an average 1.5 percent beginning July 1. It’s the first state-approved average workers’ comp rate increase in 15 years.
Officials said this nominal increase is the result of a settlement between the Division of Insurance’s State Rating Bureau, the Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau (WCRIB), and the Office of the Attorney General.
The settlement reduced the initial 6.4 percent rate increase request that WCRIB filed last December.
The last time Massachusetts raised the average workers’ comp rates was in 2001, when the rates rose by an average of 1 percent.
“In a time when the costs of doing business continue to be a challenge, I’m pleased that our State Rating Bureau worked convincingly to broker an agreement on this important and mandatory insurance coverage,” Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Daniel Judson said.
John Murphy, executive director of the Massachusetts Insurance Federation, an industry trade group, said workers’ comp insurers are seeing higher medical and wage costs in Massachusetts.
“While we would have preferred to see an increase closer to the request in the filing, we are satisfied with the agreement reached by all the parties,” Murphy said. “It recognizes that medical and wage costs have been on the rise and need to be reflected in the rates charged for workers compensation coverage.”
Topics Trends Workers' Compensation Pricing Trends Massachusetts
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