JLC • NEW ENGLAND UPDATE • FEBRUARY 1996 JLC • NEW ENGLAND UPDATE • OCTOBER 1996
Comp Reform in
New England: It
Works
Legislation and Safety
Efforts Reduce Premiums
Five years ago, almost everyone
called the workers compensation
insurance system, which
pays for replacement income
and medical care for workers
injured or disabled on the job,
a disaster. Injury rates and days
missed were rising; medical
costs were spiraling upward at
double-digit annual rates; and
insurance companies were fleeing
the market or raising premiums
radically. In construction,
premiums rose an average of
12% annually and sometimes
jumped as much as 40% in a
year. Comp insurance was costing
many contractors as much
as 25% of their payroll costs,
and were rising yearly (see
"Straight Talk About