The cost of workers’ compensation insurance claims in Maine is expected to decline by double digits in the coming year, the state’s top insurance regulator said.

Maine Superintendent of Insurance Eric Cioppa said he has approved a 12 percent average decrease in the recommended estimate for workers’ compensation loss costs in the state. Loss costs vary by industry, but most should see a decrease, he said.

State Superintendent of Insurance Eric Cioppa

The decrease could save Maine businesses as much as $27 million in the coming year if all insurers fully adopt the recommendation, Cioppa said in a news release. Workers’ compensation insurance providers use data on loss costs to set annual premiums. The new recommended loss cost estimates are for the 12-month period beginning April 1.

“Maine employers’ efforts to improve workplace safety, return injured workers to their jobs in a timely manner and control medical costs continues to pay off,” Cioppa said. “This most recent decrease should result in lower workers’ compensation premiums on average across all industry groups.”

Workers’ compensation loss costs are calculated annually for each state by the National Council on Compensation Insurance based on previous and projected loss and benefits payments. They must then be approved by each state’s top insurance regulator.

The decrease is only a recommendation, Cioppa said. It is up to individual insurers to decide whether to accept the proposed change in loss costs.