Benefits January 23, 2002
9/11 Pushes up Workers Comp Premiums
January 23, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The terrorists
who attacked the US on September 11 have left yet another
reminder of that day's events - this time in the form of
dramatically higher premiums for workers' compensation
insurance.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
According to research from Standard & Poor’s, companies are paying 30% to 50% more for workers’ compensation coverage since the attacks. Those that have a history of claims have it even worse; their premiums are skyrocketing by as much as 100%
S&P said the problem is that insurance companies aren’t allowed to stop covering clients for terrorist acts. At the same time Congress has yet to give the industry help in covering future terrorism-affected claims.
In the near term, conditions in US workers’ compensation coverage will cut into the income statements of employers, S&P said. However, the market should be back on a more even keel by the end of 2002.