The state and insurance companies have agreed to keep the rates that businesses pay to compensate injured employees for lost wages and medical care the same.
The settlement between the state’s Division of Insurance and attorney general’s office and the Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau was announced Friday. The bureau, which represents companies such as Liberty Insurance, AIG, and Traveler’s Insurance Co., had initially requested a 7.7 percent rate increase. Attorney General Martha Coakley called the initial rate increase unjustified and said she was pleased to see them more fairly applied.
“As the Commonwealth continues to address high unemployment, this is not the time to unfairly increase these costs for the private sector, especially for the small business community,” Coakley said in a statement.
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The state last raised workers’ compensation rates in 2001 by 1 percent.
Deirdre Fernandes can be reached at deirdre.fernandes@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @fernandesglobe.