Carriers Extend Decade of Profitability

The workers’ comp industry is continuing its decade-long run of profitability, according to analysis by our sister publication Workers Comp Executive of data from a new National Association of Insurance Commissioners report.
Carriers posted profits of 23.5% on their workers’ comp insurance transactions, with a 10-year average of 18.2%.
Profit on insurance transactions is the total of a carrier’s underwriting profit plus investment gains on insurance transactions minus its estimated federal income taxes.
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A Colorado legislative measure that would expand patients’ choice of doctors in the workers’ compensation system, from four employer-offered options to any accredited provider in a 70-mile range, has been delayed, likely until the start of 2028.
Just ahead of the end of the state’s House of Representatives current session, its sponsor pulled it from consideration.
Business groups and insurers, including Pinnacol Assurance, had already begun preparing a veto campaign, and Gov. Jared Polis reportedly had looked critically on a proposal that opponents warned could add costs and recovery time and costs to a system that, by all accounts, is working well.
A statement from Pinnacol called the legislation “A costly bill to the economy that delays care for workers remains a costly bill to the economy that delays care for workers – no matter when it’s implemented.”
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Recently passed amendments to Utah’s Workers’ Compensation Act went into effect this week.
Among the provisions, the changes define “agricultural employer” and distinguish between immediate family and nonimmediate family employees for workers’ compensation purposes.
Also, the amendments specify that individuals with disabilities or their designated representatives who employ persons to provide home and community-based services for seven or more hours per week, paid through state or federal funds, are considered employers under the Act.
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