Maine Approves Whopping Rate Cut

Businesses across Maine’s could save $27 million over the coming year after the state announced approval of a WC premium rate reduction of an average of 9.6%, effective for new and renewing policies as of April 1, 2025.
The decreases range from -6.5% to -10.7%, depending on the industry group.
The approval of the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) 2024 loss costs for the state will lower workers’ compensation premiums for most employers in the state,” Superintendent of Insurance Bob Carey said. “If all insurers fully adopt the decrease, Maine businesses could save approximately $27 million.”
Maine’s reduction in loss costs is one of the largest in the country for 2025, among the 38 states that utilize NCCI’s services.
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A new webinar from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) will look at claims characteristics and trends over the Covid era.
The 30-minute program looks at changes, trends and shifts in workers’ compensation claims over a five-year period, from 2017-2022.
Scheduled for April 17 at 2 p.m. ET, the webinar is based on data compiled from more than 8 million non-COVID-19 claims from injury years 2017 through 2022 across 31 states.
“This webinar will provide system stakeholders with observations about shifts in claim characteristics during a period of significant economic and workforce disruptions,” said Ramona Tanabe, WCRI president and CEO. “Through detailed tables and graphs, the study highlights emerging trends that can help inform decision-making.”
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Big data and AI are increasingly being brought into the fight against workers’ compensation fraud, according to a new report from investment manager Conning.
Fraudulent claims cost insurers between $35 billion and $44 billion each year and are only getting more sophisticated.
“Emerging fraud-fighting techniques centered on data and analytics can enable insurers to identify fraud in real-time, allowing investigators to act more quickly and accurately,” said Jay Sarzen, a director at Conning.
Beyond fraud prevention, there’s also been a broader shift in the industry toward predictive, data-driven risk management in workers’ comp.
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