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Examining Costs and Trends of Workers Compensation Claims in New York State

The average cost of workers compensation claims naturally increases over time. Wage inflation has a direct impact on the cost of indemnity (wage replacement) benefits, while increases to the cost of medical services and pharmaceuticals have a highly leveraged impact on the cost of workers compensation claims, where medical care is generally more complex and costly than services associated with general health care.

Average claim costs and trends will vary between states. Each individual state has its own workers compensation benefit structure, administrative system, and governing statutes. Compensation rates, maximum and minimum weekly benefits, automatic adjustments to maximum and minimum benefits, system utilization, industry mix, administrative efficiency, constraints on medical care, and general cost of living levels all potentially vary by jurisdiction, and represent a sample cross section of items that directly impact variances by state.

The purpose of this paper is to:

  • Present current estimates of average workers compensation claim costs in New York based on the most recent available data from the NYCIRB
  • Benchmark average New York claim costs against average claim costs in other states
  • Measure and discuss average claim cost trends in New York
  • Identify the actual and expected impact of the 2007 law change on average claim costs
  • Illustrate the impact of New York Workers Compensation Board assessments

*This report was last updated March 2013.

Examining Costs and Trends of Workers Compensation Claims in New York State


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