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Details of California’s Growing Cumulative Trauma Problem

Cumulative trauma claims for workers’ comp benefits, particularly those filed post-termination, used to be primarily a creature of the Los Angeles region, but changes in applicants’ attorneys’ marketing and practice patterns are making them a statewide phenomenon. The latest data indicates that over a quarter of the workers’ comp indemnity claims filed this year will … Read More »

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Rate Hike Proposals Under CDI Consideration

The California Department of Insurance took testimony from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, the independent actuary representing employers and organized labor, and a member of the workers’ comp community during a remote hearing earlier this month on competing proposals for a workers’ comp rate hike. The testimony covered the insurance industry’s request for a … Read More »

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California’s Combined Ratio Reaches Two-Decade High

The 2025 accident year combined ratio for California’s workers’ comp system may be one for the record books. The accident year combined ratio is projected at 129% based on the latest industry data. This level hasn’t been seen in California workers’ comp since 2001. The industry’s year-end 2025 results show that California’s accident year combined … Read More »

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Nonprofit Wins Classification Dispute

Norcal Crew, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit competitive youth rowing program, prevailed in a dispute with its workers’ comp carrier and the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau. The organization successfully fought off reclassification of its operations to a class with an advisory pure premium rate 2.5 times higher than the workers’ comp rate for its historical classification … Read More »

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Dual Wage Changes, Payroll Limits Under Review

Officials at the California Department of Insurance heard California contractors’ concerns and their request for a review of the fairness of the proposed increases to the dual wage thresholds, but there was little other feedback on the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s newest technical filing. The filing is now under review, with a decision by … Read More »

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Rate Increase Drivers Identified

The insurer majority on the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s governing committee pushed through a request for a 10.4% increase in California workers’ comp advisory pure premium rates effective September 1, 2026. An alternative proposal by the public members for a lower 5.1% rate hike was rejected by the industry executives. The filing for the … Read More »

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Workers’ Comp Reform Coming

A seemingly routine panel discussion at a recent Commission on Health, Safety, and Workers’ Compensation may prove to be the starting point for California’s next round of workers’ compensation reforms. Representatives for injured workers, providers, and payers were discussing what is and isn’t working in the system when a representative for employers and workers’ comp … Read More »

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Another Workers’ Comp Rate Hike

It’s a 10.4% recommended rate increase in the state’s advisory pure premium rates effective September 1, 2026. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s insurer majority just approved it as the … Read More »