WA workers compensation premiums set to increase in January
Beginning Jan. 1, worker’s compensation premiums will increase by 4.8%, the Department of Labor and Industries announced Wednesday.
L&I said in a press release that wage increases and rising medical cots led to the rate increase. The increase means that employers and workers will jointly pay an additional $61 a year per worker.
“The proposed rate is an average,” L&I noted. “An individual employer’s actual rate change may be more or less depending on that employer’s industry and history of claims that result in wage replacement and/or disability benefits.”
The agency noted that workers will still pay on average a similar percentage to what was paid in 2022, approximately one quarter of the total premium. L&I added that “strategic decisions” led to a contingency reserve buildup, protecting workers and employers from a larger rate increase.
“We’re adopting this modest increase in the workers’ compensation rate to boost the long-term health of our state workers’ comp system,” L&I Director Joel Sacks said in the press release. “This move will assure that our contingency reserves, which we’re using to buy-down the impacts of the rate increase, will continue to be healthy and viable.”
In October, representatives from business and labor groups testified, as well as submitted written comments, during public hearings about the proposed 2023 rates. Those comments and testimony factored in the rates decision, according to L&I. L&I determines rates for the following year every fall.
About 2.7 million Washington workers are covered by workers compensation insurance, as well as approximately 198,000 employers in the state.
More information about increasing rates for 2023 can be found online at www.Lni.wa.gov/Rates.
This story was originally published December 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "WA workers compensation premiums set to increase in January."
