A proposal from the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, or DCBS, is looking to lower workers' compensation insurance costs for employers in 2020.
DCBS aims to bring down workers' compensation costs down to an average of $1.02 per $100 of payroll from $1.11 in 2019, which will cover workers' compensation claim costs, assessments and insurer profit and expenses. Under the proposal, the pure premium rate that insurers use to determine employers' payment for medical claims and lost wages will also drop by an average of 8.4%, effective Jan. 1.
Workers' compensation costs for employers include the pure premium, insurer profit and expenses and premium assessment. It also includes a cents-per-hour-worked rate workers' benefit fund assessment, which provides benefit increases to permanently disabled workers and families of workers who died due to workplace injuries or diseases. The workers' benefit fund is also set to decrease to 2.2 cents per hour worked from 2.4 cents per hour worked in 2019.
The premium assessment, a percentage of workers' compensation premium paid by employers, is set to increase to 8.4% from 7.8% in 2019. The increase will partially offset the decline in pure premium, according to DCBS.
