AIA: Calif. Comp Rate Regulation Bill Fails Passage

On Wednesday, the California Assembly Insurance Committee said now is not the time for rate regulation and it was too early to judge the impact of the historic workers’ compensation reforms (SB 899) on rates, reported the American Insurance Association (AIA).

“The committee did the right thing, we applaud their foresight. They understood that the workers’ compensation market is changing, decreases are being passed along to employers and rate regulation would have hurt the progress we have made in California,” said Ken Gibson, AIA vice president, Western Region. “Conservative estimates show that rates have come down a minimum of 30 percent, only six months after implementation of SB 899 was begun. The failure of this bill tells workers’ compensation insurers that California is serious about returning stability, objectivity and predictability to what was once considered the worst system in the country.”

SB 46, authored by Senator Richard Alarcon (D), failed passage on a vote of 0 to 4. The bill will not be able to be heard again until 2006.