L&I Proposes a 0.8% Decrease to Workers' Compensation Premiums for 2020

L&I attributes the proposed decrease to several factors, including declining workplace injury rates, along with L&I initiatives that are helping injured workers recover sooner and reducing workers' compensation costs.

The proposed rate decrease means that if adopted, employers will pay about $15 less a year per employee for workers' compensation coverage in 2020. Employees would see a very small increase in the amount they pay because of a rise in costs related to the supplemental pension fund, due to an increase in the average wage in Washington.

The proposed 0.8% workers' compensation premium decrease is an average; if adopted individual employers may see smaller or larger drops depending on that employer's industry and claims history.

Public hearings

L&I will hold three public hearings about the proposed rate decrease:

• Tukwila, Oct. 29, 10 a.m., Dept. of Labor & Industries Tukwila Office
• Spokane Valley, Oct. 30, 9 a.m., Spokane CenterPlace
• Tumwater, Nov. 1, 10 a.m., Tumwater Labor & Industries Office

Comments can also be submitted to joanne.attwood@Lni.wa.gov by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019.

Learn more

• Look up proposed 2020 rates by risk classification.
• Q&A about 2020 proposed rates.
• News release on proposed 2020 rate decrease (Sept. 18, 2019).

Other resources

• Lni.wa.gov/ControlMyRates – ways you can keep your premium costs low.
• Lni.wa.gov/ClaimFreeDiscount – learn how to earn and keep the discount.
• Video: L&I Rate Setting 101 – shows how L&I crunches the number to calculate your rate.
• Video: Stay at Work: It's a Win-Win – learn how the Stay at Work Program saves costs.