2015 Oregon Workers’ Compensation Costs Drop about 5%

This year, Oregon employers will be paying about 5 percent less for workers’ compensation coverage, as the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) has approved the drop in their “pure premium” rates. Pure premiums are the portions paid by employers to insurers to cover the costs of anticipated claims for work-related injuries and fatalities.

Commenting on this decrease, DCBS Director Patrick Allen stated:

Oregon’s strong commitment to workplace safety and health continues to keep costs low for Businesses…Efforts to control medical costs and get workers back to work faster also have contributed to rate decreases in the past two years.

A Closer Look at the 2015 Workers’ Comp Cost Changes

The following highlights the major changes to 2015 workers’ compensation costs:

• Pure premiums – This will be the second consecutive year that these premiums have dropped, as they decreased by about 7.6 percent for 2014.
• Premium assessments – While these costs generally stayed the same (as they were in 2014) for insured employers, self-insured employers and private-sector self-insured employers, they decreased for public-sector self-insured groups, dropping about 0.8 percent.
• Workers’ benefit fund – Also known as the payroll assessment, these costs will remain the same as they were for 2014 (3.5 cents per hour worked).

Here, it’s also important to note that:

• The costs noted above reflect an average; consequently, some employers may see greater decreases, no decrease or potentially even increases to their workers’ comp costs (based on their industry, etc.)
• While the rate changes are effective as of 2015, employers will likely experience the changes when they renew their workers’ comp insurance policies.
• Oregon has the 12^th lowest workers’ compensation costs in the nation.

Portland Workers Compensation Lawyers at the Savage Law Firm

Have you been injured while working? If so, you can rely on the Portland workers compensation lawyers at the Savage Law Firm for experienced help and aggressive legal advocacy. For more than three decades, our lawyers have been committed to providing each of our clients with personal attention, respect and the highest quality legal services.

We realize how devastating work injuries can be on a physical, psychological and financial level. That’s why our lawyers are here to aggressively defend injured people’s rights so they are able to obtain the full amount of benefits to which they are entitled.

Our Portland workers compensation lawyers encourage you to learn more about your rights and case by setting up a free initial consult.