People who live and work in Wisconsin are generally covered by workers’ compensation insurance provided by their employers. This special and important type of insurance provides essential financial benefits to workers who are injured in on-the-job accidents and those workers who develop medical illnesses related to their employment. The employers in the state are required to make insurance premium payments for this coverage.
Companies in Wisconsin have apparently seen the premium rates for workers’ compensation be reduced in the last couple of years per a report from the Star Tribune. Now, there is a chance that the insurance premium rates will decline once again, this time by a margin of almost nine percent. If the proposal is approved, the new rate structure will take effect on October 1 of this year.
The Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau is the agency that is recommending the new premium rates to the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. Evidence showing a drop in the number of reported illnesses and injuries throughout the state contributed to the recommendation to lower insurance rates.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses shows that 300 fewer incidents were reported statewide in 2017 compared to 2016. Some people, however, indicate that this is not necessarily the best news since the injury and illness rate in Wisconsin remains higher than the average across the nation. In Wisconsin, an average of 3.7 workers out of every 100 full time equivalent employees report workplace injuries and illnesses. Nationwide, that rate is 3.1 out of every 100 workers.
