View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2012/11/14/270424.htm
Despite reform attempts, Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation insurance rates continue to be among the most expensive in the country, according to a recent study.
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services’ biennial study ranks workers’ compensation rates in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Its 2012 study shows that in Oklahoma businesses face the sixth highest premiums in the nation.
The challenges to the state’s workers’ compensation system are not new to the state’s employers or employees, according to the Oklahoma Injury Benefit Coalition.
More than 5,000 employers who responded to Gov. Mary Fallin’s “Fallin for Business” survey in 2012 said the state’s workers’ compensation system is the number one challenge to doing business in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak recently announced that workers’ compensation premiums will increase again in 2013.
Oklahoma Injury Benefit Coalition reported that during the 2012 legislative sessions, lawmakers failed to pass the Oklahoma Employee Injury Benefit Act by only a handful of votes. The act would have created a workers’ compensation alternative that many considered to be an improved version of a system that has proven effective in Texas.
The proposal is expected to be offered again during the 2013 session.
Source: Oklahoma Injury Benefit Coalition