Louisiana Workers’ Comp Insurance Rates Set to Decline Again

Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon reports that Louisiana businesses are expected to see a decrease in their workers’ compensation rates in 2016.

The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) recently proposed an overall decrease of 2.7 percent for Louisiana employers from its 2015 workers’ compensation loss costs.

Most workers’ compensation carriers in Louisiana use the NCCI annual loss cost filing to formulate their insurance rates. This loss cost reduction would mark a cumulative drop in workers compensation rates of 38 percent since 2006 and a 51 percent drop since 1996.

“The workers compensation market in Louisiana continues to be competitive and our businesses are benefitting. In 2007, there were 197 companies writing workers comp; by the end of 2014 we had 235 companies writing here – an increase of 19 percent,” said Commissioner Donelon. “That competition is also bringing costs down, with companies today paying nearly 40 percent less for the same coverage as they were 10 years ago.”

Donelon added that the reduced rates are also the result of fewer and less severe workplace injuries. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the overall rate of fatal work injuries in Louisiana dropping from 7.3 in 2008 to 6.3 in 2013. Fatal injury rates represent the rate of fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers per year.

Louisiana Department of Insurance actuaries will review the NCCI filing and if approved, it will take effect May 1, 2016. The most recent NCCI filing approved was a 2.4 percent decrease which took effect May 1, 2015.

The total Louisiana workers’ compensation market is estimated to be more than $990 million in total premium.

Source: Louisiana Department of Insurance

Topics Trends Workers' Compensation Louisiana Pricing Trends