The Oregon Department of Consumer & Business Services today announced that the average pure premium rate employers pay for Oregon workers´ compensation insurance they will remain flat in 2008.Marking the sixth year in a row with no average change after twelve consecutive years of rate reductions – a national record that has resulted in cumulative cost-savings worth billions of dollars to Oregon employers.
At the same time, DCBS announced plans to reduce two state fees that pay for workers´ compensation and workplace safety programs, cutting costs for Oregon businesses by an estimated $33.4 million in 2007 alone. State officials have either reduced these fees or kept them flat each year for the past four years as well.
Governor Ted Kulongoski said. To continue the success, we must work together to keep workers safe on the job. Keeping costs down depends on keeping workers healthy and injury-free.On average, employers in Oregon can expect to pay about the same amount for their workers´ compensation insurance premiums in 2006 as they have in 2005, but because of the fee reductions their overall workers’ compensation costs will be lower. Specific cost changes will vary from business to business, depending on a given employer’s industry, claims experience, workforce, and other factors. DCBS Director Cory Streisinger noted that cost reductions are only part of the story: Maximum benefits for permanently disabled workers in Oregon have increased dramatically since workers’ compensation reform began in the 1990s, to a compensation level above the national median, while temporary total disability benefits have increased to 133 percent of the state’s average weekly wage. Work to maintain fairness and control costs in the workers’ compensation system is on going.
Oregon’s worker’s compensation rates are released each fall for the following year. The 2007 workers’ compensation rates announced today mean that Oregon will continue to stand out from neighboring states. Washington officials recently proposed an average premium increase of 3.8 percent for next year. California has announced significant rate decreases as recent workers’ compensation reforms take effect, but costs there are still much higher than those in Oregon. A 2004 study by DCBS found that Oregon’s premiums had dropped.
The average pure premium rate Oregon employers will pay for workers’ compensation insurance will remain. The pure premium rate is the base premium reflecting the actual cost of workplace injury and illness claims, before insurer administrative expenses and profit are added. This means that, on average, employers’ workers’ compensation premium costs for the year will remain flat. This is the fourth year in a row with no change. The unchanged 2008rate represents an average across all types of businesses.
Businesses and industry groups may be higher or lower, depending on group and individual claim records. Employers pay their premiums directly to their insurers. Although the state sets the pure premium rate, premiums do not fund state programs or services.
The assessment used to fund workers’ compensation related programs and workplace safety and health programs that serve Oregon employers and workers be set at an amount equal to 5.5 percent of the premiums charged for workers’ compensation coverage. These programs are administered primarily through DCBS. The recommended rate would be down from 6.8 percent, the rate effective during 2005. This would amount to a reduction of over 19 percent in the total assessment, bringing it to its lowest level since 1997. Self-insured employers and self-insured employer groups would pay a rate of 5.7 percent. Workers’ compensation insurers, self-insured employers, and self insured employer groups pay this assessment to the state. Insurers can pass on the cost of the assessment to the employers they cover, but must identify that cost as a separate line item on billing statements.
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