Colorado Workers’ Compensation Premium To Remain Unchanged

Colorado employees are likely to see their workers’ compensation costs remain unchanged for 2007. State Insurance Commissioner David Rivera said the National Council on Compensation Insurance will not be filing for any changes in the workers’ comp insurance loss costs for Colorado for 2007.

“The NCCI has concluded that conditions in Colorado have remained essentially unchanged based on the most recent data available,” Rivera said. “From the information available to our office, we cannot disagree with that conclusion. Moreover, the NCCI’s analysis essentially confirms the decision we made late last year to hold the line on proposed loss cost changes.”

The NCCI, a rating and advisory organization, collects annual data on workers’ comp claims for the insurance industry and is responsible for the development of the loss costs for approximately 600 different class codes, according to the DOI.

“The stability of the workers’ comp market in Colorado is in welcome contrast to the volatility and steep increases seen in other states,” Rivera said. He added that workers’ comp loss costs have decreased or remained unchanged since 2000, generating a cumulative decrease of 28 percent during the past six years. Loss costs have increased only once since 1992, he said.

Loss costs are a significant, but not the only factor, used in establishing each employer’s actual premium. Rate filings made by individual insurers may cause the premium charged to an employer to be greater or less than the filed loss costs. In addition, Colorado employers may be eligible for dividend distributions, based on their own experience and the experience of their insurer. A majority of Colorado employers have recently received a dividend related to their workers’ comp coverage, in addition to premium decreases implemented in early 2006.

For more information, visit www.dora.state.co.us/insurance under “press releases” and “workers’ compensation.”

Source: DOI