A Firm Foundation: How Insurance Supports the Economy

Workers compensation

Workers compensation insurance provides for the cost of medical care and rehabilitation for injured workers. It also provides for lost wages and death benefits for the dependents of persons killed in work-related accidents. Workers compensation systems vary from state to state. There are two components to workers compensation claims costs: cash payments for lost time (which are usually linked to a state’s average weekly wage), known as indemnity costs, and payments for medical care.

Workers Compensation Benefits, Coverage And Costs, 2021

 

  2021 Percent change,
2017-2021
Covered workers (000) 140,227 -0.1%
Covered wages ($ billions)  $9,497 22.0
Workers compensation benefits paid ($ billions)  60.0 -4.3
     Medical benefits  28.5 -9.3
     Cash benefits  31.5 0.7
Employer costs for workers compensation ($ billions)  96.0 -5.6

Source: Workers Compensation: Benefits, Coverage, and Costs, February 2024, National Academy of Social Insurance.

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