Mega Claims In Workers’ Compensation: The NCCI Weighs In

The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) released a new report on August 25 about mega claims in the workers’ compensation system and growth trends associated with the highly uncertain category, revealing that such claims are at a 12-year high.

The report, Countrywide Mega Claims, incorporates claims data from participating state rating bureaus at thresholds of $3 million, $5 million and $10 million in total incurred losses at 2018 cost levels for the 2001 through 2017 accident years at annual evaluations.

The study was held in response to stakeholder suggestions to NCCI that mega claims may be increasing in frequency and severity due to “medical advances, improving mortality patterns particularly for those with serious injuries, [and] increasing prevalence and cost of home health care.”

Ryan Voll, a manager and associate actuary for NCCI, said that the definition of a mega claim is a “general term meant to convey that we are studying significantly large claims” but that “the selected thresholds balanced, analyzing some of the largest workers’ compensation claims while also considering the number of claims that would be available at each dollar threshold.”