The State Corporation Commission (SCC) has approved revisions to the premium levels charged for workers’ compensation insurance in Virginia.
Workers’ compensation insurance provides medical care and wage replacement benefits to injured workers. Almost all Virginia employers are required to provide the coverage to their employees.
The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) sought the revisions. The changes approved by the SCC will increase the overall premium level for the industrial, surface and underground coal mine classifications in the voluntary market and the assigned risk plan. The industrial classes include manufacturing, office and clerical, goods and services, contracting and miscellaneous industry groups. The changes will decrease the overall premium level for the federal classifications, which fall under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act, in the voluntary market and assigned risk plan.
The changes will become effective April 1, 2016, for new and renewal workers’ compensation policies, as follows
Class | Voluntary Market Loss Costs | Assigned Risk Rates |
---|---|---|
Industrial | +3.5% | +2.3% |
“F” (Federal) | -1.2% | -1.7% |
Coal Mines (Surface) | +13.3% | +11.3% |
Coal Mines (Underground) | +12.0% | +9.9% |
NCCI, a Florida-based ratemaking organization, represents insurance companies licensed to write workers’ compensation insurance in Virginia.
Virginia’s workers’ compensation rates remain among the lowest in the country.