North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Rates Given a Nudge

North Carolina employers’ costs for workers’ compensation will inch up next spring under an agreement reached between the state and insurers.

The settlement ordered a 0.6 percent increase for voluntary market loss costs and 4.1 percent increase for the assigned risk markets.

The changes are effective April 1, 2011 and represent a savings of $7 million for businesses over what was initially requested, according to Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, who announced the settlement with the North Carolina Rate Bureau (NCRB), the organization that represents the state’s workers compensation insurance companies.

The NCRB is required to submit rate filings annually in September. The 2010 filings requested an average increase of 1.2 percent in loss costs for the voluntary market and an average increase of 5.5 percent in the assigned risk markets.

In 2009, Goodwin ordered a 9.6 percent decrease for voluntary loss costs and no change for assigned risk markets, which saved businesses approximately $119 million. Rates were also cut in 2008.

NC WC Rate History