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3.7%

Idaho workers’ compensation insurance rates will be increasing an average of 3.7 percent in 2011, according to the state Department of Insurance. The average rate increase is based on National Council on Compensation Insurance recommendations. The state said rates have declined 2.6 percent in 2010 and 3.8 percent in 2009, but the number of open claims and increase in claims costs necessitate an increase.

60

Claims with an obese diagnosis can be 30 times to 60 times more expensive than a comparable claim incurred by a non-obese person, the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. reported. The group found that 12 months after the date of injury, the aggregate medical costs of obese claims were three times greater than the comparable costs of the matched non-obese claims. Additionally, medical costs of the obese claims continued to grow at a faster pace than the nonobese; at 36 months they were four times more costly, and by 60 months the difference was more than five times greater.

Topics Claims