The Ticker

Plans a 4.9% risein the state workers compensation rate for 2027. That would cost payers an additional $1.44 each week for every full-time employee, on average, with 75% of the premium paid by employers and the rest by workers. The increase is needed to address the increasing expense of workers compensation, the state Department of Labor & Industries said. Approval of the final rate is scheduled for Nov. 30, followed by enactment on Jan. 1, 2027.

Calls on home insurers to offer meaningful premium discounts to homeowners investing in storm and wildfire mitigation upgrades, such as installing impact-resistant roofing or building to the FORTIFIED Home Standard. The state Department of Insurance bulletin follows a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who cited a 79% rise in the state’s average homeowners premium since 2020.There is also a push for legislation that would require insurers to weigh those same mitigation steps when setting rates, which lawmakers could take up when they reconvene in January. >> Clarifiesthat while insurers canreject or decide against renewing coverage for a home based on the physical status of the roof, plumbing, wiring, or other components, they cannot make such a decision based solely on the age of the structure or its roof.

Proposes new rules to implement HB 229’s licensing framework for pharmacy benefit managers, creating a stand-alone PBM license separate from the third-party administrator license the businesses have used until now. The new license carries a $2,000 filing fee, 10 times the TPA license fee. Once the law takes effect on July 1, 2027, PBMs must also disclose to plan sponsors any ownership stake of 5% or more they hold in an insurer. Operating without a license after that date is a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

State Assembly member Harry Bronson (D) introduces a bill that would impose a 3% monthly interest on workers compensation awards that go unpaid by employers or insurers for more than 15 days following a Workers Compensation Board award, stacked on top of the 1.5% monthly interest already applied on overdue medical bills. Payers that fail to make required payments three or more times within a year could face 5% monthly interest and a civil penalty of up to 25% of what is owed. The measure remains with the Assembly Labor Committee.

Cuts average workers compensation voluntary loss costs by 2.9% for 2027 and decreases assigned risk rates by 3.4%. This marks the 15th straight year of declines. The reduced costs apply to policies written on or after Jan. 1, 2027.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signs SB 1013, banning insurers from adjusting premiums based on a customer’s willingness to pay rather than their actual risk. The law formalizes a 2024 state Department of Insurance and Financial Services bulletin that already restricted the practice.

Says 2027 health premiums will rise by 12%, on average, in both the individual and small group markets, with the state’s reinsurance waiver holding individual rates 16% below where they would be otherwise.

Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King rolls out Georgia Access For Business, a new platform letting employers set a fixed monthly, tax-free stipend for workers to put toward individual coverage instead of offering a single group health plan. The program runs on CHOICE arrangements, the federal framework previously called individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs).

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs into law a four-bill wildfire recovery package establishing the nation’s first standards for testing and remediating smoke-damaged homes and requiring insurers to cover those costs. The legislation also makes mortgage forbearance protections permanent for future disaster survivors, building on the state’s response to last year’s Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles County, which destroyed more than 16,000 structures. The state Insurance Department highlighted AB 1795, which, among other measures, bars insurers from canceling additional living expense benefits until qualifying residences are safe for habitation, sets time frames for inspections and claims management, and mandates that repair estimates be able to return homes to their prior condition. >> Newsom subsequently signed legislation aimed at enhancing insurance consumer defenses for homeowners and renters following a wildfire or other catastrophe. Among other measures, SB 876 mandates that insurers establish disaster recovery plans for claims management, increases financial penalties twofold for breaching fair claims protocols and settlement law amid a declared emergency, and demands direct restitution payments from insurers to policyholders following any unfair claims settlement activities.