Average workers’ compensation loss costs for the voluntary market in Tennessee will drop by 3.6% starting March 1, marking the 12th straight year for decreases in the state.
The National Council on Compensation Insurance recommended the decrease in a September filing. The state Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation agreed, and Tennessee Insurance Commissioner Carter Lawrence approved it last month, the commissioner’s office said in a bulletin.
“The loss cost reduction can be contributed, in part, to safer workplaces where workers are receiving fewer injuries on the job,” Lawrence said.
He also credited legislative changes, begun in 2014, with reducing costs for employers and insurers. Claimants’ attorneys in the state have said those statutory changes significantly reduced benefits for some injured workers and have made it less attractive for lawyers to represent workers, leading to a decline in contested claims and a drop in benefits appeals.
The latest loss cost decrease tracks a nationwide trend of cuts in compensation rates over the last 20 years. It follows an average voluntary market decrease in Tennessee of 9.4% for 2024; a 10.2% decrease in 2023; and a 5.6% decrease in 2022.
The commissioner also approved a 4.4% decrease for assigned risk plans, starting March 1.
Topics Workers' Compensation Tennessee
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