Oregon to See Comp Costs Fall for Second-Straight Year

Good news has come for employers in the state of Oregon.

Oregon workers compensation costs will decrease an average 5.3 percent in 2015, the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) announced.

The department approved the average decrease in “pure premium,” which is the portion of the premium employers pay insurers to cover anticipated claims costs for job-related injuries and deaths.

Workers comp pays injured workers for lost wages and medical care for job-related injuries.

Lower average costs in both of those areas are driving down the pure premium for the second-straight year.

“Oregon’s strong commitment to workplace safety and health continues to keep costs low for businesses,” said Patrick Allen, DCBS director. “Efforts to control medical costs and get workers back to work faster also have contributed to rate decreases in the past two years.”

The decrease is based on a recommendation from the Florida-based National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. (NCCI), which analyzes industry trends and prepares rate recommendations for the majority of states. Pure premium reflects only a portion of workers comp costs but is the key factor behind annual cost changes.

The decrease is an average, so an individual employer may see a larger decrease, no change, or even an increase depending on the employer’s own industry, claims experience, and payroll. Also, pure premium don’t take into account the varying expenses and profit of insurance companies.

Rate Decrease Effective Jan. 1

The rate decrease is effective Jan. 1, 2015, but employers will see the changes when they renew their policies in 2015.

Oregon’s workers comp premium rates have ranked low nationally for many years.

Only 11 states and the District of Columbia had average rates lower than Oregon at the beginning of 2012, according to a biennial study conducted by DCBS.

Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

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