After the Crisis: Workers Compensation Overview and Outlook for 2011 & Beyond

This keynote presentation at the Business Insurance Virtual Workers Compensation Conference by Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, focuses on workers compensation insurance, a property/casualty (P/C) line of insurance whose exposure and performance are closely linked to the economy and labor market. The weak economy and resulting soft market have made workers comp operations increasingly challenging. This report takes a detailed look at regional differences in the U.S. recession and recovery, labor markets, and payroll and employment exposure trends. Different aspects of the workers compensation operating environment are discussed, including premium and rate trends, profitability, underwriting performance, medical and indemnity claim cost trends, residual market and state fund market share and performance and investment market impacts. The presentation also provides an overview of the P/C insurance industry.