Kentucky Workers’ Comp Loss Costs to Decrease by 5 Percent

The Kentucky Department of Insurance has approved the annual workers’ compensation rate filing from the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. (NCCI) with a rate decrease of five percent on average.

It is the eleventh consecutive overall decrease in loss costs, according to Insurance Commissioner Brian Maynard.

The 2016 filing, approved by the Kentucky Department of Insurance, takes effect Oct. 1.

The loss cost figures show an average reduction of 5 percent for the 582 industrial classes used in Kentucky. The industrial classes include manufacturing, office and clerical, contracting, and goods and services.

For coal classes, surface mining increased 21 percent and underground mining costs increased 25 percent. Maynard noted that the coal class increases were expected and largely due to changes in federal requirements related to benefits to be paid to those suffering from coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (black lung) and other occupational diseases.

Maynard noted that the overall 11 consecutive decreases have lowered loss costs on average 54.5 percent.

“The workers’ comp market in Kentucky remains strong,” Maynard said.

Data collected from insurance carriers is used to develop loss costs, which are the average compensation for lost wages based on the level of disability, plus medical benefit payments.

Use of the information is voluntary but most workers’ comp carriers use the NCCI loss cost values as the base to which the insurer’s own loss adjustment and overhead expenses are added to arrive at the rates charged to Kentucky employers.