Missouri Dept. of Insurance Recommends 6.4% Decrease in Workers’ Comp Rates

The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) is recommending a 6.4 percent decrease in workers’ compensation insurance loss costs for 2023. This marks the seventh time in eight years that average workers’ compensation rates will decrease.

The 6.4 percent decrease in loss costs between Jan. 1, 2022 and Jan. 1, 2023 is driven by data collected on an annual basis showing a steady decline in lost-time claim frequencies. Since 2006, the cumulative change in claim frequency has decreased more than 32 percent. From 2015-2019, injury claims per worker also decreased and were less severe in nature.

Workers’ compensation was mandated in Missouri by state law in 1925 and is a “no-fault” insurance system that pays benefits to workers injured on the job to cover medical care, part of lost wages and permanent disability. In return, employers receive immunity from civil lawsuits by employees over such workplace injuries.

The NCCI’s proposed average changes in loss costs by industry group are shown below:

Manufacturing: -6.2%
Contracting: -8.2%
Office and Clerical: -8.7%
Goods and Services: -5.8%
Miscellaneous: -4.4%