Pa. Insurers File for Workers’ Comp Rate Cut

Pennsylvania workers’ compensation rates will be going down next April if a loss cost filing submitted by the industry is approved.

The Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau has recommended that workers’ comp loss costs be reduced an average 2.89 percent effective April 1, 2005.

The reduction is due in large measure to improvement in the medical cost trend, according to Dawn Belfus of the PCRB.

Last April, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department approved PCRB’s filing for a 3 percent rise in loss costs.

Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President William M. George called the rate reduction good new for workers and employers.

“We attribute this in large measure to the dramatic 50 percent reduction in workplace injuries that has occurred over a ten-year period,” he said.

“In addition credit should be given to the workplace health and safety committees that prevent accidents and injuries before they occur,” he added.

All of the state’s workers’ comp carriers must use the approved loss cost figures.