The steady decline is welcomed news by all but doesn’t come as a surprise to many industry observers given claims experience over the past 15 years. One of the “key issues facing employers and workers compensation insurers is whether the large declines in claim frequency that began in the 1990s are likely to continue.”
Some of the key findings of the report include:
- Over the last two years, the claim frequency decline appears to be just as strong for the medium and large claims as for the small lost-time claims.
- Because the relative increase in larger claims (caused by the uneven frequency decline) has subsided in the past two years, severity increases are lower. This is particularly true for indemnity.
- Over the last five years, significant declines occurred for all injury types, including permanent total and permanent partial claims.
- While there is some variation, the decline in workers compensation claim frequency occurred in all major industry groups and spanned almost all occupations.
- After accounting for both claim frequency and severity, premiums by industry group are equitable.
- The shift in occupational mix is a minor contributor to the decline in claim frequency.
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