California Commissioner Adopts $1.94 Workers’ Comp Pure Premium

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has adopted an advisory pure premium rate that lowers the benchmark to $1.94 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation insurance.

The advisory rate is effective Jan. 1, 2018. The rate is 17.1 percent less than the average pure premium rate of $2.34 California insurers filed as of July 1.

The decision results in an advisory pure premium rate that is slightly below the $1.96 average rate recommended by the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau in its filing.

Jones issued the advisory pure premium rate three weeks after a public hearing and review of the testimony and evidence submitted.

“The continued decreases in costs to insurers should be passed along to employers through lower rates,” Jones said in a statement. “The WCIRB has once again recommended a reduction in the advisory pure premium rate, which will ultimately benefit California’s business economy if insurers lower their pricing.”

The WCIRB’s pure premium advisory rate filing demonstrated continued decreases in costs in California’s workers’ comp insurance market. The pure premium advisory rate reduction is based on insurers’ cost data through June 30 of this year.

The WCIRB will evaluate workers’ comp costs again in the summer and fall of next year when it files its pure premium rate benchmark recommendation with the California Department of Insurance.

Topics California Workers' Compensation