Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara effectively split the baby and approved the second consecutive increase in California’s workers’ comp advisory pure premium rates. In a decision released late Friday afternoon, the CDI announced a 6.6% increase effective September 1, 2026.
The decision follows the 8.7% increase approved last year when the carriers were seeking an 11.2% increase. The 2025 rate hike was the first adopted in California in a decade.
This year, the recommendation was slightly higher than the 4.8% employers and organized labor suggested but did not reach the 10.4% recommended by the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.
The Bureau is a private organization with quasi-governmental responsibility. It is financially supported exclusively by insurance carriers in whose interests it operates.
Workers’ Comp Executive will provide detailed coverage of the Department’s decision in the next premium edition.
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