DES MOINES – According to a new report from the Iowa Insurance Division, the state’s proposed workers’ compensation rates will decrease by 8.7% beginning January 1, 2018. This builds on a July 1, 2017, rate decrease of 3.9% and helps make Iowa more competitive for attracting business and industry.
The proposed decreases are a direct result of the workers’ compensation reform passed in House File 518 during the 2017 legislative session. The reduction in business costs will enable Iowa companies to hire more workers and invest in their employees.
“Over the past decade, Iowa’s workers’ compensation system has mutated into one that benefits trial lawyers at the expense of businesses and workers,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said. “Workers’ compensation reform rebalanced the scale to ensure employees are compensated fairly for being injured on the job while ensuring abuses are curtailed.”
Workers’ compensation reform prevents attorneys from taking fees from injured workers when an employer is voluntarily giving benefits, ends the employer’s burden to demonstrate that intoxicated workers incurred injuries as a result of intoxication and ends an individual’s ability to receive workers’ compensation while also receiving unemployment insurance.
The Iowa Insurance Division recently provided notice of the proposed reduction in workers’ compensation rates in an analysis found here. The insurance commissioner must approve the proposed rates and is currently reviewing them to ensure they are justified.
