Two most vulnerable work groups

• Employees in their first year on the job accounted for 34% of the claims and almost 7 million missed workdays because of injuries.
• In addition, injuries among workers 60 and older were less than that of many other age groups, but they had higher average costs per claim.
• The average costs of their claims were 140% higher than those of employees 18 to 24 and 15% higher than those of 35- to 49-year-olds.
• Slips, trips, and falls resulted in an average of 83 missed workdays, followed by motor vehicle crashes (79), overexertion (71), and struck-by incidents (67).
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Pandemic had little impact on costs for workers’ comp claims

• The utilization of nonhospital and hospital outpatient services in the Illinois workers’ compensation system decreased in 2020.
• The decrease is attributed to medical facility closures and service limitations during the beginning of the pandemic, according to a new study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
• The report showed the percentage of workers comp claims with major surgery decreased mostly in the second quarter of 2020, likely due to limitations on non-essential procedures due to COVID-19.
• Researchers found indemnity benefits per claim increased by 10% in 2020 and then dropped by 3% in 2021, driven by the duration of temporary disability.
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FDA recalls over 500,000 COVID tests

• More than half a million Covid tests have been recalled by the FDA over bacteria concerns in the test kit solution for some pilot at-home tests.
• The contaminated solution may pose safety concerns as well as cause the test to give an inaccurate result.
• The agency warned tests should be thrown out immediately.
• Over 500,000 tests were distributed to the CVS drugstore and approximately 16,000 were distributed to Amazon.
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MGA launches workers comp program for struggling companies

• Estero, Florida-based Seaglass Insurance Group launched a workers’ compensation program for distressed businesses with high injury rates in the manufacturing and social service sectors.
• The managing general agent, licensed in all states, provides services to drive down workers’ compensation insurance costs.
• The goal is also to strengthen workplace safety culture by focusing on the mitigation of key loss factors with customized risk management.
• The new “distressed/high mod program” will help companies establish vigorous risk management protocols that will lead to reduced insurance expenses and a safer work environment.
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