The performance of the workers compensation system remains strong according to the 2023 metrics that the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) released today.

Workers compensation premium increased 1% in 2023. Private carriers produced their 10th consecutive year of underwriting profitability with a Calendar Year 2023 combined ratio of 86. It is the 7th consecutive year with a combined ratio below 90 for the workers compensation insurance market.

“The overall numbers for workers compensation show a financially healthy system,” said Donna Glenn, Chief Actuary, NCCI. “To maintain the health of the system, NCCI continues to look beyond the headline numbers to understand the intricacies of the system and identify risks that may impact our future. We are relentless in our commitment to being The Source You Trust.”

“The workers compensation system has unique features that have differentiated us from other commercial lines in terms of overall performance during the past several years,” said NCCI President and CEO Bill Donnell. “However, there are key questions ahead related to issues such as frequency change and medical cost inflation.”

Key Insights

– – Workers compensation premium increased 1% in 2023.
– – The Calendar Year 2023 combined ratio for workers compensation is 86%, a sign of underwriting profitability for the system.
– – Workers compensation’s Accident Year 2023 combined ratio is 98% with prior years continuing to experience downward reserve development.
– – The workers compensation reserve redundancy grew to $18 billion.
– – Lost-time claim frequency declined by 8% in the past year, which is more than two times the size of the long-term average decline.
– – Severity changes were considered moderate for 2023 with increases of 2% for medical claim severity and 5% for indemnity claim severity.

Related may be downloaded using these links:

– – 2024 State of the Line Report (PDF)
– – 2024 State of the Line Guide (HTML)
– – 2024 State of the Line Insights (PDF)