Nevada OK’s Filings for Moderate Workers’ Comp Loss-Cost and Assigned-Risk Rate Changes

Nevada Insurance Commissioner Barbara D. Richardson approved a slight decrease in workers’ compensation voluntary insurance loss costs and average increase for assigned-risk rates.

Richardson approved two filings from the National Council on Compensation Insurance this week.

Compared to previous years, these filings are different as one of them will take effect March 1, 2018 while the other will take effect on March 15, 2018, according to the commissioner’s office.

An average decrease of 2.3 percent for Nevada workers’ compensation voluntary insurance loss costs and an average increase of 0.2 percent for Nevada workers’ compensation assigned-risk rates will take effect on March 1, 2018.

This filing is based on recent improvements in workers’ comp claim experience in the Nevada market, as well as the slightly increased costs for assigned-risk servicing carriers which were selected to administer assigned-risk policies effective Jan. 1, 2018, according to Richardson.

On March 15, 2018, a second NCCI filling will take effect, which responds to recent changes in Nevada law.

Assembly Bill 458 of the 2017 Legislative session required the Nevada Division of Industrial Relations to annually update the Actuarial Annuity Table of present values used to calculate the lump-sum payments of permanent partial disability awards. In response to this statutory mandate, the DIR promulgated Regulation R043-17, which updated the Actuarial Annuity Table effective Dec. 4, 2017.

By using a lower interest rate than previously prescribed, this update increases the benefit amounts of those claimants electing lump-sum PPD payments. The second NCCI loss-cost and rate filing was made to account for the impact of this change on Nevada workers’ comp system costs, which is an overall average increase of 4.7 percent to both voluntary loss costs and assigned-risk rates, according to Richardson.

For policies issued or renewing on or after March 15, 2018, the combined average effect of the two recently approved filings will be an overall average increase of 2.3 percent to the level of voluntary loss costs and an overall average increase of 4.9 percent to the assigned-risk rate level. Changes for individual employers may vary from this combined impact depending on the NCCI Classification Code to which an employer’s operations are assigned.

Previously, effective March 1, 2017, Richardson approved the largest workers’ comp loss-cost decrease (10.7 percent) since 2004 and the largest assigned-risk rate decrease in Nevada history (10.5 percent).

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