Soaring health-care costs and lower investment income from a topsy-turvy stock market are putting intense pressure on insurance companies to increase workers compensation rates. "The last cycle and this cycle, two-thirds of the filings [for all industries] have been for increases," says Peter M. Burton, senior division executive for the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc., Boca Raton, Fla.
Specifically, 25 of 38 states have filed for increases in premiums, 10 for decreases and three for no change, says Burton. "It doesnt seem to matter which geographic area" a company is in, adds Marcia DeWitt, president of GuilfordPare, Baltimore, a workers comp consultant.