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California workers’ comp insurers post $431 million underwriting loss in 2025

In 2025, earned premium fell to $15.4 billion while incurred losses and expenses rose to $15.7 billion, lifting the loss-and-expense ratio to 102% of earned premium.

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California workers’ compensation insurers recorded a pre-tax underwriting loss of 2.8% of earned premium in 2025, about $431 million, a reversal from a 0.8% underwriting profit in 2024, according to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California.

The WCIRB’s 2025 California Workers’ Compensation Losses and Expenses report said calendar-year 2025 earned premium totaled $15.4 billion, down from $15.6 billion in 2024, while total incurred losses and expenses climbed to $15.7 billion, equal to 102% of earned premium.

Insurer loss adjustment expenses rose to 18% of earned premium in 2025 from 16% in 2024, and total incurred expenses increased to 40% of earned premium from 38% a year earlier. Total loss payments were split nearly evenly between medical and indemnity benefits, with $5.2 billion going to medical, or 52% of total loss payments, and $4.7 billion going to indemnity, or 48%.

Within medical spending, payments made directly to injured workers totaled $1.69 billion, slightly higher than $1.68 billion in 2024, while physician services fell to $1.37 billion from $1.39 billion and hospital payments declined to $0.55 billion from $0.57 billion. On the indemnity side, temporary disability benefits were 59.2% of paid indemnity in 2025, and permanent partial disability accounted for 31.6%, the report said.

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