Workers’ compensation rates in Arizona are set to go down 6.7% next year.
The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions reviewed the annual National Council on Compensation Insurance rate filing for a 6.7% reduction in workers’ comp rates, which takes effect January 1, 2026.
That marks the 12th consecutive year of rate decreases for Arizona employers.
According to the department, there were 120,000 workers’ comp policies written in Arizona by 335 different insurers. These policies generated $865,560,247 in premiums.
The frequency of workers’ compensation claims continues to decline, according to the department.
NCCI annually collects information about workers’ comp and submits proposed rates to DIFI for review. NCCI’s recommended rates are based on claims volume, claims utilization, workforce, and wages as well as any changes in rules or legislation.
The proposal also opens the door to future leasing in the eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico, which has long been protected from energy development because it is used for military testing and training. Florida officials have opposed changes to that policy.
A schedule in the plan includes two potential lease sales there in 2029 and 2030, but also says the area was withdrawn from leasing consideration through 2032. The plan will allow the Interior Department to analyze the area for possible future leasing, according to the document.
Oil and gas leases in federal waters accounted for 14% of U.S. oil production and 2% of domestic natural gas production in fiscal 2024, according to federal data. The vast majority of that output is from leases in the Gulf of Mexico.
Production from leases in the Pacific accounts for just 0.1% of U.S. oil output, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The United States has not auctioned drilling rights for areas in the Pacific Ocean since 1984. California has among the most ambitious climate change policies in the world, and a 1969 oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara is credited with spawning landmark federal environmental policies.
“Trump’s idiotic plan endangers our coastal economy and communities and hurts the well-being of Californians. This reckless attempt to sell out our coastline to his Big Oil donors is dead in the water,” Newsom said in a statement.