View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2015/02/03/356293.htm

California State Fund Files April 1 Rating Plan

California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund has filed for a 9 percent increase in collectible premium that will apply to new and renewal workers’ compensation policies effective on or after April 1.

Although the rate plan is designed to generate an overall 9 percent increase in collectable premium, the impact to individual policies will vary.

Details of the rate filing include:

• Adoption of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s pure premium recommendations and classification relativities for base rates.
• An approximate 5 percent increase to tiers A and B.
• The elimination of the group insurance discount.
• A 25 percent increase in minimum premiums.
• A 6.5 percent and 4.8 percent increase to the Los Angeles County and Southern California Area territory factors.
• Schedule rating threshold will move from $10,000 in base premium to $25,000.

Among the reasons for the rate increase, State Fund cited the latest reports from WCIRB that show that the rate of California workers filing lost-time workers’ comp claims is at its highest level in 10 years. Research by the WCIRB shows the rate of claims in California rose 0.9 percent in the first nine months of 2014, a trend that appears to be driven by the experience in Southern California.