Delaware has approved lower workers’ compensation insurance benchmarks for the tenth consecutive year, with the new values taking effect Dec. 1.

The Department of Insurance said average voluntary-market loss costs will fall 3.99%, while average residual-market rates will decline 4.11%. The voluntary market serves employers able to secure coverage from commercial insurers; the residual market is the assigned-risk backstop for businesses that cannot obtain standard coverage.

The percentages are statewide averages, not guaranteed reductions for every employer. Actual premiums depend on the type of work, payroll, claims history, insurer pricing and available credits. Loss costs are actuarial estimates of future claim expenses that insurers use as a foundation when developing rates; they are not the entire premium charged to a business.

The Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau’s rating-values record identifies the approved change as amended Filing No. 2602, covering all state classifications and effective Dec. 1. It includes updated voluntary loss costs, residual-market rates and other rating values. Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro’s office said independent actuaries reviewed the filing and that regulators held a public hearing with the bureau and the state’s Ratepayer Advocate.

The 2026 reductions are smaller than the prior year’s changes. The department’s 2025 announcement reported an 11.6% average reduction in voluntary loss costs and a 9.08% decrease in residual-market rates. That comparison illustrates why the decade-long streak should not be read as a fixed annual savings rate: actuarial experience and approved benchmarks are recalculated each year.

The rate change arrives alongside a separate expansion of Delaware’s Workplace Safety Program. Senate Bill 248, signed in June, restores the maximum premium savings available through that program to 12%. The General Assembly’s bill summary says an earlier change in the experience-rating system had unintentionally reduced the value of the safety credit for some employers.

The Insurance Department’s program guidance says the maximum had dropped to 6% before the new law. The restored 12% ceiling applies to safety-credit calculations communicated on or after Dec. 1. To qualify, participating employers undergo annual workplace inspections and must show that hazards are routinely identified and corrected. The review is separate from an Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance inspection.

At the end of 2025, 853 employers participating in the safety program had saved an estimated $3.6 million, according to the department. Eligible businesses are notified about seven months before renewal and may submit a questionnaire to begin the inspection process. Failure to qualify cannot itself be used to raise premiums or trigger sanctions from safety officials.

The benchmark reductions and the safety credit affect premiums through different mechanisms. The first lowers the statewide actuarial starting point for coverage; the second rewards qualifying employers that maintain documented safety practices. For businesses, the practical effect will appear at renewal, after insurers apply classification-specific values, experience factors and company pricing.

Lower insurance costs do not reduce benefits owed to workers injured on the job. Delaware’s workers’ compensation system continues to cover eligible medical care and wage replacement; the approved changes concern how employers’ coverage is priced.