Study puts N.H. workers' comp rates at 9th highest in nation

New Hampshire has the ninth most expensive workers' compensation insurance premiums in the country – the state's worst ranking since Oregon began publishing figures from its biennial study in 1994.The data, released this month by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, show that New Hampshire employers pay an average rate of $2.40 per $100 in payroll on workers' comp insurance, which is 128 percent of the national median rate of $1.88.

The study ranks the 50 states and Washington, D.C., based on rates that were in effect Jan. 1, 2012. In 2012, Alaska topped the nation with the most expensive rate of $3.01 per $100 in payroll, followed by Connecticut at $2.99 and California at $2.92. North Dakota employers paid the lowest rate of $1.01, followed by Indiana at $1.16.

While New Hampshire's national ranking is worsening, the rate that employers in the state pay on workers' compensation premiums has actually been declining over the years. In the 2010 report, New Hampshire was in 10th place with a rate of $2.45 per $100 in payroll; and in 2008, it took 14th place, at $2.70 for $100 in payroll.