• 16
  • August
    2010

According to Dale Kasler in The Sacramento Bee, an "influential insurance-industry group" has recommended a 29.6 percent increase in workers' compensation premiums. Needless to say, this is bad news for businesses struggling to stand in California's staggering economy.

While the nearly 30 percent boost in workers' comp premiums may be a high estimate, many seem to believe that California business owners will see a price increase.

Employers are required to provide workers' compensation and can be held liable for failure to do so. Still, such a dramatic increase could make it harder for them to do business. Whether or not such a rise in premiums would force anyone out of business is up for debate, but it certainly won't make raises or additional staff more likely for businesses already in need of both.

In 2004, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that lowered workers' compensation premiums by 60 percent. However, those days seem to be slipping away, with premiums again trending upward.

The influential group in question, the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, has been recommending rate increases for about a year. Most of these have been upwards of 20 percent.

The increase in cost has been slow so far, but an increase of 20 percent or more would be a vicious shock to the system. Still, with problems looming "on the horizon," California business owners may not have long to wait for such a change.

What it could mean for the workers themselves remains to be seen.

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