Report Shows California Workers’ Compensation Premiums Falling

Workers’ compensation insurance premiums in California are declining as continued rate decreases more than offset the impacts of continued economic growth, according to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California.

The WCIRB released its 2019 State of the System report highlighting key metrics of the California workers’ compensation system. The report summarizes the state of the California workers’ compensation insurance system as of mid -2019.

Findings in the report include:

• Despite recent rate decreases, California premium rates remain high compared with other states.
• Overall claim frequency in California has remained relatively flat, although the frequency of cumulative trauma claims continues to grow particularly in the Los Angeles Basin and San Diego areas.
• Recently, claim severities have begun to increase after a number of years of relatively flat to declining claim severities following the Senate Bill No. 863 reforms.
• Frictional costs in California are the highest in the country.
• Statewide combined loss and expense ratios continue to be well below 100 percent and have recently been lower than in other states.

The full report is available in the Research section of the WCIRB website.

Related:

• California Workers’ Comp Rating Bureau Chief’s Message to Comp Community
• Report: Workers’ Comp Premiums in California for First 9 Months of the Year Down 3%
• California Comp Quarterly Report: Written Premium on Pace with Last year, but an Overall Declining Trend

Topics California Workers' Compensation Talent Pricing Trends