The WCIRB Governing Committee voted to authorize the WCIRB to submit a January 1, 2015 Advisory Pure Premium Rate Filing to the California Insurance Commissioner.

The Filing will propose advisory pure premium rates that average $2.86 per $100 of payroll, which is $0.29 or 11.4% greater than the corresponding industry average filed pure premium rate of $2.57 as of July 1, 2014, and $0.18 or 6.7% greater than the average January 1, 2014 advisory pure premium rate of $2.68. The proposed average pure premium rate reflects a deterioration of $0.12 or 4.4% from the WCIRB’s indicated January 1, 2014 average pure premium rate reflected in the WCIRB’s amended January 1, 2014 Pure Premium Rate Filing.

Chief Actuary Dave Bellusci cited several factors that are driving this deterioration in the indicated pure premium including:

1) Continued adverse medical loss development
2) More complete recognition of long-term medical paid loss development patterns
3) Continued high levels of indemnity claim frequency
4) Higher than anticipated loss adjustment expense inflation in part attributed to less than projected frictional costs savings resulting from Senate Bill No. 863 (2012)
5) Lower wage growth than the original forecast
6) Increase in indicated experience rating plan off-balance

The Filing reflects statewide loss and loss adjustment expense experience valued as of March 31, 2014; however, Mr. Bellusci advised the Committee that the WCIRB will continue monitoring insurer experience and may amend the Filing once it has analyzed experience valued as of June 30, 2014.

The WCIRB will submit its January 1, 2015 Pure Premium Rate Filing to the California Department of Insurance (CDI) on or around August 18, 2014. The CDI will schedule a public hearing to consider the Filing and once the Notice of Proposed Action and Notice of Public Hearing is issued, the WCIRB will post a copy in the Regulatory Filings section of the website (www.wcirb.com).