Direct written premium in the California workers’ compensation system fell for the second year in a row in 2018. Total DWP declined 3.8 percent to less than $12.3 billion, and nine of the ten largest insurers in the state wrote less premium in 2018 than they did in 2017.

California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) reported on market data compiled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), showing that the aggregate premium of workers’ comp insurers dropped by almost $489 million in 2018. Declining premium rates offset the increase in covered payroll.

The NAIC report ranks the top ten insurer groups by premium volume. Berkshire Hathaway Group topped the list with a little over $1.34 billion total premium, even though their premium volume declined almost 5.7 percent. The State Compensation Insurance Fund came in second with total premium of $1.34 billion. IWC Group, AmTrust, Hartford, Travelers, Chubb, Zurich, Fairfax and Employers rounded out the top ten. A total of 76 insurer groups reported California DWP in 2018 but the majority of DWP was concentrated among the two dozen largest insurer groups, each had at least 1 percent market share and together made up 88.2 percent of total DWP.

Read more from Insurance Journal.