New York employers’ workers’ compensation premium rates are set to fall for the first time since 2008, the state said today.
Policyholders’ premiums will drop by 1.2 percent in the upcoming policy year after the state rejected a request from the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board that would have increased rates. The rating board, which is a nongovernmental rate-service organization, originally proposed a loss-cost increase of 11.5 percent.
The state Department of Financial Services rejected that proposal, in part citing the effects of newly implemented measures of New York’s 2007 Workers’ Compensation Reform Law. Those measures include diagnostic testing network regulations and guidelines that were released in January for determining permanent impairment and loss of wage earning capacity.
“To create jobs and get our state’s economy back on track, it is essential that New York’s businesses remain in a competitive position to succeed in the global marketplace,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release. “For years, the workers’ compensation system has been too costly for businesses and ineffective for injured workers.
“With the new measures implemented by the state and our continued work together with the business and labor communities, we will remain on track to create a system that works better for both employers and employees.”
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com