NCCI Explores Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Workers’ Comp

The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) published a new report on the economic impact of Coronavirus on workers’ comp, exploring employment, business closure and furloughs, injury frequency, injury severity, premiums, and more.

Key findings of the report include:

• Coronavirus layoffs are happening with unprecedented rapidity but not uniformly across economic sectors and types of businesses
• Temporary business shutdowns and permanent closures have different impacts, and small businesses are at particular risk of closing permanently
• Coverage of coronavirus claims under workers compensation is an open question whose resolution is likely to differ across states
• Reduced access to medical care during the pandemic may increase the duration of existing claims
• Workers anticipating layoffs may defer or accelerate injury reporting, impacting claim frequency
• Motor vehicle accidents are likely to decline due to reduced business travel and less congestion
• During the pandemic, premium is likely to fall more than employment

NCCI plans to issue a second part to this report soon.