Workers' comp insurance about to jump
Several carriers plan significant rate boosts
By Dean Calbreath

Five years after California reined in skyrocketing workers' compensation insurance rates, employers are facing another round of rate increases, blamed largely on rising medical costs.
Over the past two months, half a dozen insurers have notified the state of their intention to raise their workers' comp rates by 10 percent to 33.9 percent.
In Sacramento today, the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, an advisory panel largely composed of insurance representatives, will present its case for lifting a statewide benchmark for insurance rates by 23.7 percent - the biggest jump in 30 years.
California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has signaled that he is skeptical of the panel's request, especially since a recent audit showed that between 2003 and 2006 the bureau - which makes recommendations on the benchmark rate twice a year - repeatedly asked for rate increases that were not justified by market conditions.
"We must carefully scrutinize all the data involved in making this decision to ensure that any change in the benchmark is warranted," Poizner said last week."  Read the rest of this article...