Oregon cuts workers' comp pure premium 3.3% for 2026, a 13th straight annual decrease
DCBS set the advisory pure premium at an average 87 cents per $100 of payroll and trimmed the Workers' Benefit Fund assessment to 1.8 cents per hour, both effective January 1.
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Oregon will cut the average pure premium rate that underlies workers' compensation insurance pricing by 3.3% for 2026, the 13th consecutive annual decrease, the state Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) announced. The new rate takes effect January 1, 2026.
According to DCBS, the pure premium — the portion of the rate that covers projected claim costs — falls to an average of 87 cents per $100 of payroll for 2026, down from 91 cents in 2025. The department said the pure premium has declined 46.5% from 2017 to 2026.
DCBS attributed the continued decrease to fewer claims entering the system over time, combined with claims that are generally less severe. The pure premium recommendation originates with the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), which DCBS reviews as part of its annual public rate-setting process before the rate is set. The department cautioned that the 3.3% figure is a statewide average, and that an individual employer may see a larger or smaller decrease, no change, or an increase depending on its own industry, claims experience, and payroll.
In a statement attributed to interim DCBS Director Sean O'Day, the department said the "continued decline in workers' compensation costs shows the resiliency in making Oregon a safe place for workers."
Separately, DCBS said the Workers' Benefit Fund (WBF) assessment will fall to 1.8 cents per hour worked in 2026, down from 2.0 cents in 2025. The hours-based assessment, which employers and workers split, funds programs administered through the department — including reimbursement to insurers and self-insured employers for certain reopened and subsequent-injury claims, return-to-work incentives, and benefits tied to noncomplying-employer and supplemental-disability claims, per DCBS.
Oregon runs a competitive private workers' compensation market rather than an exclusive state fund, so the pure premium is an advisory cost benchmark rather than the final price: carriers apply their own loss-cost multipliers, expenses, and profit loadings on top of it when filing the rates employers actually pay.
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