Missouri employers are starting the new year with a gift from the Missouri Department of Insurance. In early December, the department announced it was recommending a 3 percent decrease in workers’ compensation insurance loss costs for 2018. This news comes after a 4 percent decrease that took effect on Aug. 1, 2017, and Missouri’s average workers’ compensation rates are now expected to go down for the fourth year in a row.
“Missouri’s lost-time claim frequency has fallen since 2010, and average claim costs have stayed steady for the past several years,” Department of Insurance Director Chlora Lindley-Myers said in a statement. “This improvement in experience is driving the decrease in loss costs.”
The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), which files advisor loss costs with the Department of Insurance each year, also proposes a 3 percent average cost decrease. However, under Missouri law, insurers are not required to change their rates, regardless of the recommendations made by NCCI or the Department of Insurance. They may set their rates based on these recommendations or their own actuarial analysis.
