WC Rates Continue to Fall
Wisconsin employers again will be paying less for worker’s compensation insurance going forward. In a continuing trend that has now become commonplace, this marks the ninth year in a row that work comp rates for employers has decreased. Virtually all Wisconsin employers are required to carry worker’s compensation insurance to protect workers in the event of workplace accidents or diseases, and the cost of obtaining that insurance continues to go down each and every year–suggesting the continual health of the work comp system in our state!
In a news release from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), Wisconsin employers on average will pay 10.5% less in work comp premiums beginning Oct 1st (and the DWD indicates this will save about $206 million over the next year). For some historical context, the rates have decreased as follows:
- 3.19% in 2016
- 8.46% in 2017
- 6.03% in 2018
- 8.84% in 2019
- 0.93% in 2020
- 5.44% in 2021
- 8.47% in 2022
- 8.4% in 2023
- 10.5% in 2024
That marks over a 60% decrease in 9 years! As such, Wisconsin employers would be well-advised to avoid complaints about the costs of work comp insurance rates or the price of work comp claims in light of these declining rates.
Legislative Impact
Moreover, the precipitous decline in insurance rates suggest there is limited need to change the law with respect to a “medical fee schedule” in Wisconsin. In recent years, business interests continually press the Advisory Council and legislature to implement caps or cost control on the cost of medical procedures for work comp claims. In all instances, those legislative attempts have failed, in large part due to the interests of the medical community. The ever-declining insurance premium rates certainly undercuts any argument that there is runaway cost issue within the work comp system that requires addressing.
