Nevada Lowers Workers’ Comp Costs 3.9%

Nevada Insurance Commissioner Brett Barratt approved a filing for an average decrease of 3.9 percent for Nevada workers’ compensation voluntary insurance loss costs and an average decrease of 2.2 percent for workers’ compensation insurance assigned risk rates.

Loss costs are the expected costs of medical and wage loss benefits including the costs to administer the benefits by employment classification. Insurers convert the loss costs to full rates by factoring in the insurer-specific loss cost multiplier which contemplates the insurers’ administrative expenses and profit.

The proposed loss cost changes are expected help Nevada employers save money on workers’ compensation insurance, which the commissioner said will be a welcome relief to businesses during these economically challenging times and will help to make Nevada an even more attractive place to do business.

Workers’ comp claims costs have been decreasing over the past decade, which is largely the reason for the proposed decreases. Fewer claims offset the generally increasing average indemnity and medical costs per claim and cost-of-living adjustments. Both medical costs and indemnity costs per claim appear to be leveling off and are projected with this filing to increase more slowly than wage growth, Barratt said in an announcement.

The changes will vary by classification. Class changes are as much as 20 percent above or below the average for the classification’s industry group. For example, for classification 5645, “carpentry — detached one or two family dwellings,” the proposed change in the loss cost is -6.4 percent.