WCRI Reports 10% Growth in Indemnity Benefits

The Workers Compensation Research Institute said indemnity benefits per claim in New York grew 10% for 2020 non-COVID-19 claims evaluated in 2021 after being mostly stable since 2015. At the same time, medical payments per claim decreased 5% in the same period following a rapid increase the previous year. WCRI said both the increase in indemnity benefits and decrease in medical payments likely reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “For claims at 12 months of experience, the average number of weeks of temporary disability increased 9% (about one week) in 2020/2021, which may...