Connecticut employers will save more than $100 million in workers’ compensation costs next fiscal year due to a reduction in assessment rates for the state’s Second Injury Fund.
State Treasurer Denise Nappier this week announced a half-point drop in rates.
“The rates for insurance companies will decrease from 2.75% to 2.25% for insured employers,” Nappier wrote in a May 1 letter to Connecticut employers and insurance carriers.
“Concurrently, the rate for self-insured employers will decrease from 3.25% to 2.75%.
“The savings to Connecticut businesses from these reductions will be $102 million during fiscal year 2019.”
Nappier said it marks the 20th straight year the fund has either reduced or maintained assessment rates for state businesses.
Cumulative Savings
Rate reductions have cumulatively saved Connecticut employers $1.3 billion, said Nappier, who is not seeking reelection this fall after 20 years in office.
“This reflects a total reduction of 78% in rates assessed for insurance companies and 81% for self-insured employers,” she said.
The fund was created in 1945 to discourage discrimination against veterans and encourage employers to hire workers with a pre-existing injury.
It is financed by assessments on all Connecticut businesses.
A 1995 law closed the fund to new second injury claims sustained on or after July 1, 1995 and expanded enforcement, fines, and penalties against employers who fail to provide workers’ compensation coverage.
Today, the fund continues to be liable for claims transferred prior to its closing, as well as claims involving uninsured employers and cost of living adjustment reimbursements for certain injuries involving payment of total disability benefits or a dependent spouse’s disability benefits.