WCIRB projects highest combined ratio in 14 years
- October 2, 2025
- Posted by: Web workers
- Category: Workers Comp
The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California projects a 2024 accident year combined ratio of 123%, 10 percentage points higher than the year before and the highest ratio in 14 years.
Last year’s increase was driven by higher claim frequency, average loss and loss adjustment expense costs, and modest changes in earned premium, WCIRB said in its fourth-quarter experience report.
Total claim costs are also on the rise, with WCIRB projecting ultimate total loss and allocated loss adjustment expense severities of $82,478 for 2024, 6% higher than the average severity of $77,549 in 2023.
Projected medical severity has increased each year since 2016.
The projected medical severity for 2024 of $36,488 is 9% higher than the ultimate medical severity of $33,578 in 2023. Medical severity is up a cumulative 37% compared with $26,625 in 2016.
“Medical severity increases since 2016 have mostly been driven by regular inflationary updates to medical fee schedules adopted by the Division of Workers’ Compensation,” the WCIRB said. “The steep increase in medical severity in 2024 is driven by increases across many types of medical services.”
WorkCompCentral is a sister publication of Business Insurance. More stories here.
