Outside contractors say a proposal to raise workers compensation insurance rates by nearly 15 percent is off base compared to their analyses.
The three companies are returning proposals below the Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau’s filing from last month.
One, under the direction of the public advocate, is calling for about a 2.3 percent increase, while the other two firms range between 8.0 and 9.6 percent hikes.
DCRB is looking for about a 15 percent increase after Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart lowered average rates up to 11.5 percent earlier this year.
That reduction came after two years of substantial growth in premium costs. Some proposals reached near 40 percent, angering business owners, most of whom are legally required to carry workers comp insurance.
Legislative changes in 2013 and 2014 tweaked how much clinics could charge for different procedures, also roping in hospitals to the fee schedule for the first time.
Public hearings on the proposed rate hikes are scheduled in all three counties later this month.
