Kentucky’s Insurance Commissioner has approved a 6.4% decrease in average workers’ compensation loss costs for the state, making it the 18th consecutive drop in costs for most Kentucky employers.
“The decreased claim figures make Kentucky an appealing state to do business,” Commissioner Sharon Clark said in a notice posted last week. “It’s also indicative of the ongoing safety initiatives by Kentucky’s employers who work to keep their employees safe while on the job.”
The decrease was recommended by the National Council on Compensation Insurance and will take effect Jan. 1.
Workers’ compensation rates across the country have continued to decline, due in part to safer working conditions and fewer injuries, experts have said. The rates have declined so much, however, that some in the industry worry that employers could stop paying attention to safety and long-term insurance issues.
In Florida this month, a commercial roofers association urged regulators to freeze rates instead of cutting them again, for fear that some construction injuries are not reported and that post-COVID employment has led to the hiring of less-experienced workers who are more prone to injuries, which could lead to a spike in premiums in coming years. Rates that are too also could affect at least one self-insured association’s ability to pay dividends to members.