North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Approves Workers’ Comp Rate Reduction

The cost of insuring workers will fall for businesses. According to the Insurance Journal, NC Insurance Commissioner Jim Long has approved a request from the North Carolina Rate Bureau to decrease the Workers' Compensation rate. The North Carolina Rate Bureau is an organization that represents all of North Carolina's workers' compensation insurance companies, about 150 businesses.

The rate decrease will go into effect on April 1, 2009, and cause a 4.4 decrease in the voluntary market and a 3.8 percent decrease in assigned risk markets. The decision made by Long should save businesses $65.6 million, according to the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

The current average rate for workers' compensation in the voluntary market is now 2.17 of payroll. This will be the first decrease in workers' comp rates since 2004. It reflects efforts to improve safety in the workplace and lower claim costs in recent years.