New York Workers' Compensation Rates to Drop 11.7%

For the third year in a row, rtes will drop in New York this year.  This adjustment was recently approved and will take effect on 10.1.18.  More from our friends at the Insurance Journal...

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Regulators Approve 11.7% Rate Reduction for Third Cut in Three Years

The New York Department of Financial Services has approved an overall loss-cost rate decrease of 11.7%, the third straight year that the department has fully endorsed a recommended rate cut.The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board recommended the latest reduction in May, and the DFS approved it last week. It takes effect Oct. 1.The recommended change, following a 4.5% reduction a year ago, was based on the latest statistical data reported by the rating board’s member carriers and reflects the application of generally accepted actuarial principles and methodologies, the board said in May.Insurance and employer groups have said the reductions are largely the result of legislation over the last two years that was designed to cut benefits expenses for employers. Workers' advocates said the cuts are due more to the fact that the number of claims have dropped significantly nationwide, more workers are considered independent contractors, and workers may have difficulties navigating New York's complex comp system.The 11.7% reduction also comes a month after the state Board of Workers' Compensation announced a plan to raise medical fees for the first time in years — as much as 23% for physicians. Without that, the recommended rate reduction would have been even greater, the rate filing memorandum suggested.Loss-of-use impairment guidelines, passed by the 2017 Legislature, accounted for almost a third of the proposed rate reduction, the filing said. Under previous guidelines, some injuries could be "stacked" to provide higher impairment ratings.

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