Private employer workers’ comp rate to fall 12 percent

Submitted by OHIO BUREAU OF WORKERS COMP
COLUMBUS – Already at a 40-year low, workers’ compensation premium rates for Ohio private employers will fall an additional 12 percent beginning July 1.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Board of Directors recently approved the cut that will save private employers in the BWC system $163.5 million over this year’s premiums.

BWC Administrator/CEO Sarah Morrison attributes the agency’s ability to reduce rates to many factors, including slow growth in medical inflation, fewer claims, a changing workforce and safer workplaces.

“The 86,000 claims allowed last year were the lowest number of claims in at least 20 years,” said Morrison. “BWC has also increased efforts to promote safe workplaces, and employers are recognizing that investing in safety is good business.”

Morrison noted that from 2010 through 2015, BWC’s Division of Safety & Hygiene saw a 71 percent increase in the number of employers using its safety programs and services.

BWC’s private employer rates have decreased or remained unchanged every year since 2007, with the last reduction occurring in 2016. Public rates have fallen, too, including a 6.1 percent cut that took effect Jan. 1 this year.

The actual premium paid by individual private employers depends on multiple factors that include expected future claims costs in their industry, their company’s recent claims history, and their participation in various BWC discount programs. For information, visit www.bwc.ohio.gov.