Workers’ compensation insurance rates paid by Iowa employers will decline for a fifth consecutive year in 2022, following a review by the state insurance commissioner. In an order dated Oct. 1, Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen approved proposed voluntary and assigned risk rate decreases of 5.5% and 9.1%, respectively, effective Jan. 1, 2022. The latter category, assigned risk rates, applies to plans established by states as a safety net for employers that are unable to obtain workers’ compensation coverage from “regular” insurers. The Iowa Insurance Division performs an independent review annually of a proposed rate report by the National Council on Compensation Insurance to ensure the rates are not “excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory.” The overall rate level change in the filing is based on premium and loss experience for policy years 2018 and 2019, evaluated as of Dec. 31, 2020. The reported claims resulting from COVID-19 have been excluded from the data on which this filing is based, according to the NCCI report. Iowa’s workers compensation claim frequency shows a long-term pattern of decline, the report said.