US Virgin Islands Implement WC Changes

The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Labor (VIDOL) has officially assumed control of the Government Insurance Fund.
Employers are now required to remit workers’ compensation premiums by year’s end, with VIDOL offering webinars to ensure policy readiness by Jan. 1.
It is now known as the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund (WCTF).
Recent legislation also restructured former Government Insurance Fund employees into VIDOL’s Workers’ Compensation Administration division, creating an underwriting unit.
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The 2025 schedule of disabilities chart for New Jersey workers’ compensation claims shows that the Statutory maximum and minimum for next year have increased to $1,159 and $309, respectively.
There were no additional changes to the chart this year.
The maximum and minimum rates are based on the statewide average weekly wage. For 2025 that was calculated to be $1,545.00, up from $1,507.78 in 2024.
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Gallagher Re’s third-quarter review showed that insurtech funding reached its highest level since the first three months of 2023, with $1.38 billion in global funding.
However, it tracked only 77 deals in the period, a nearly 4-year low.
The review shows three WC-related investments, including the September investment by the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corp. in Akur8, a machine-learning insurance pricing engine.
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ProAssurance Corporation, a specialty insurer that focuses on medical professional liability and workers’ compensation insurance, told told participants on Friday’s third-quarter earnings conference call that the company’s workers’ compensation segments continue “to observe and to address the higher medical loss trends that we initially saw in mid-2023, although they have begun to moderate this year. In addition, we believe our focus on operational discipline is having a positive impact.”
They noted that the company’s recent partnership with workers’ comp claims specialist CLARA Analytics “will be on board this quarter to help us enhance medical outcomes for injured workers, improve our case reserve estimation capabilities and lighten the administrative burdens of our claims professionals.”
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday said private industry employers reported 2.6 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2023, down 8.4% from 2022.
Labor Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, Douglas Parker, issued a statement, that said, in part, “Looking at the BLS report and our own recent analysis showing fewer worker deaths in OSHA’s purview, our formula of strong enforcement combined with collaboration between government, labor and the private sector to make workplace safety and health as a core value is making a difference in the lives of America’s workers.”
BLS said the decrease was driven by a 56.6% drop in illnesses to 200,100 cases in 2023, the lowest number since 2019. This was due to a 72.6% decrease in respiratory illness cases, down to 100,200 cases in 2023.
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