NAIC Data Shows WC Underwriting Gains in 2023

April 28, 2025

 

Insurance Commissioners WC Data Shows 2023 Was Robust, Profitable Year

  • (Editor’s Note: The following summary of the NAIC’s 570-page report was created with assistance of the Gemini AI tool and reviewed/revised by a human editor.)
  • The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ 2023 Workers Compensation Profitability Report, highlighted several key findings that underscore the continued strength and profitability of the workers’ compensation sector. ​
  • Private carriers reported a 1% increase in Net Written Premiums, reaching $43 billion in 2023, up from $42.5 billion in 2022.
  • The combined ratio for private carriers stood at 86% in 2023, marking the seventh consecutive year below 90%, indicating sustained underwriting profitability.
  • The 86% combined ratio translates to a 14-point underwriting gain, reflecting significant profitability in underwriting operations.
  • The Investment Gain on Insurance Transactions was reported at 9% in 2023, slightly below the long-term average of 11.4% but above the broader property and casualty industry average of approximately 8%.
  • There was an 8% decline in lost-time claim frequency in 2023, more than double the long-term average annual decline of 3.4%. ​
  • Medical claim severity increased by 2%, while indemnity claim severity rose by 5% in 2023, indicating moderate increases in the cost per claim. ​
  • The WC reserve redundancy grew to $18 billion by the end of 2023, providing a substantial buffer against future claim volatility. ​
  • Workers compensation’s share of total P&C industry net written premium decreased to 5% in 2023, down from nearly 8% in 2022, reflecting shifts in the broader insurance market. ​
  • Approximately 40% of WC carriers achieved a net combined ratio below 86%, and two-thirds reported underwriting gains in 2023, indicating strong performance across the sector. ​
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Ex-Amazon Worker Gets Jail Time in Robbery Staged for WC Claim

  • An ex-Amazon employee has admitted to conspiring with others to stage a robbery of a delivery truck that he was driving, and has been convicted of two felony counts of grand theft and insurance fraud.
  • The employee filed a fraudulent workers’ compensation claim after the staged robbery, claiming that he was suffering from stress and physiological injuries as a result of the incident.
  • The worker was sentenced to four months in a California County Jail and two years of probation.
  • In addition, he will have to pay $3,000 in investigative costs restitution and $2,000 in restitution to Amazon, according to a report.
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Colorado Delays Verisk First Injury Report Software Upgrade

  • Colorado’s Division of Workers’ Compensation is delaying its planned implementation of the software release for both First Report of Injury (FROI) and Subsequent Report of Injury, originally slated for October 2025 to July 30, 2026.
  • Software vendor Verisk said the move applied the planned implementation of Release 3.1 for FROI/SROI reporting.
  • However, two other states are still on schedule for the transition to Release 3.1 this year, New Mexico (November 2025) and Missouri (December 2025).
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NY WCB Slates Training for Electronic Submissions

  • New York State’s Workers’ Compensation Board is offering training for providers to prepare for the mandatory electronic submission of the CMS-1500 that begins on Aug. 1.
  • The WCB will require healthcare providers to partner with an electronic submission partner, also known as XML submission partner, to submit the CMS-1500 universal medical billing form electronically on their behalf.
  • The free, virtual training sessions are slated for May, June or July.
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Iowa Firm, Officers Face Charges on Lack of WC Insurance

  • Hawkeye Waste Systems and four officers have been charged with failure to maintain workers’ compensation insurance in an Iowa District Court, a Class “D” felony in the state that is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
  • According to court documents, an employee sustained “severe head trauma in a workplace accident” that involved a skid loader at the company’s Iowa City location on Oct. 31, 2024.
  • OSHA and the state’s Division of Workers’ Compensation investigated and reportedly discovered that the company “does not have worker’s compensation insurance as required by Iowa Code, and has not been approved to be self-insured by the Iowa Insurance Division.”
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