The California Workers' Compensation Institute (CWCI) says work injury claims will increase in 2016 due to a rise in California's State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW) in the year ending on March 31, 2015.
The SAWW rose just under 2.3% from $1,095.70 to 1,120.67 last year, says CWCI. As a result, temporary total disability (TTD) and permanent total disability (PTD) rates for 2016 work injury claims will rise, in addition to other workers' comp benefits that are tied to changes in the SAWW.
According to CWCI, California’s TTD/PTD maximum rate for 2015 job injuries is $1,103.29 per week. CWCI calculates that the maximum will rise to $1,128.43 per week for claims with injury dates on or after Jan. 1, 2016.
California law also links minimum weekly TTD/PTD rates to SAWW increases, so according to CWCI, those minimum rates will rise from the current $165.49 per week to $169.26 for claims with 2016 injury dates. CWCI has confirmed the new TTD/PTD rates for 2016 injury claims with the state Division of Workers' Compensation.
Beginning next January, other workers' comp benefits will be bumped up by the recent increase in the SAWW, including TTD paid two years or more after injury, life pension and PTD payments for injuries on or after Jan. 1, 2003 and installment payments on death claims.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
