Good news for employers in one state: Your workers’ comp insurance rates are going down. But that’s not all the information released. A new report also details who files for comp more often and why.
The workers’ comp premium rate in Oregon will decrease 1.3% for 2010. The state had 21,660 accepted disabling claims in 2008, a decrease of 1,773 from 2007. The claims rate is 1.2 per 100 workers, down from 1.3 in 2007.
The report from Oregon also notes that 30.4% of claims were filed by workers in the first year with their employer.
The average age of workers making claims was 41. If you assume most workers are between the ages of 18 and 64, 41 is the average age of workers overall.
So it’s not how old workers are that matters, it’s how long they’ve been with your company.
Some other statistics from Oregon’s report:
- The most common injuries were sprains, strain and tears (47%); fractures, 12%
- The top events causing injuries: overexertion (24%); struck by or against an object (14%); and bodily reaction (14%)
- The biggest sources of injuries: bodily condition or motion (24%); floors, walks or ground (17%); and containers (8.5%), and
- The body parts most commonly affected: back (21.5%); trunk, except back (16%); and knees (11%).
