The Louisiana Department of Insurance is predicting a 2.7% dropin Workers' Compensation rates for businesses in 2016, the BatonRouge-based Advocate newspaper isreporting. The dip would save employers approximately$23.5 million in premiums.

The state Insurance Department is reviewing a filing by theNational Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), which mostinsurers offering WC in Louisiana use. According the TheAdvocate, in seven of the past 10 years, NCCI has filed for WCrate reductions in the state. Altogether, the filings would havereduced rates by nearly 38%.

According to Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, thenumber of insurers writing WC in the state has increased 19% from2007 to 2014. "In 2007, there were 197 companies writing Workers'Comp," Donelon told The Advocate. "By the end of2014, we had 235 companies writing here."

Donelon said the increasing competition is helping to driverates down. "That competition is also bringing costs down, withcompanies today paying nearly 40% less for the same coverage asthey were 10 years ago," Donelon told TheAdvocate.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission says medical treatmentguidelines it implemented in 2011 have played an additional role inreducing rates by cutting the number of WC lawsuits by one third,The Advocate reported. According to the statecommission, Louisiana workplaces ranked second-safest in thenation, behind Washington, D.C., in the most recent survey dataavailable.

Despite the rise in healthcare costs, WC rates are the lowestthey have been in 25 years, according to an analysis by Pro Publica.In 2014, Louisiana employers paid $2.23 for every $100 in wages. In1988, employers were paying $3.77 per every $100.

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