Cost of Delaware Workers’ Compensation Claims Up 3% Year Over Year: WCRI

The average cost of workers’ compensation claims in Delaware for cases with more than seven days of lost work increased 3 percent annually between 2019 and 2022, according to a new study by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).

“In the years following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been important changes in the labor market, as well as changes in the availability of medical services. These changes were likely important drivers of total cost per claim trends in Delaware,” said Ramona Tanabe, president and CEO of WCRI, in announcing the research.

The study, Trends in the Delaware Workers’ Compensation System, 2017–2022, examines total claims costs, medical payments, benefits, disability duration, benefit delivery expenses and how these and other key factors evolved from 2017 to 2022 .

According to WCRI, key findings include:

• The duration of temporary disability and wages for injured workers have both increased since 2019 as a result of economic changes related to the pandemic.
• Medical payments per claim remained relatively stable, with reduced utilization offsetting stable prices for professional services.
• Benefit delivery costs per claim increased after 2019, following a decline in previous years.

The report excludes the COVID-19 claims and includes findings from other WCRI studies for broader context.

Source: The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) is an independent, non-profit research organization.

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