Data-Driven Insight into COVID-19 Claim Behavior, Costs, and System Resilience
The DCRB COVID-19 Industry Report series provides objective, data-driven insight into how the pandemic affected workers’ compensation claim activity, costs, and system performance. Drawing on both Delaware-specific data and multi-bureau collaboration across dozens of jurisdictions, these reports help carriers, regulators, and policymakers understand COVID-19’s unique claim characteristics, cost drivers, and longer-term system implications. Together, they offer a clear, credible foundation for evaluating pandemic-era experience and informing future decision-making.
COVID-19 ACTIVITY REPORT
This Delaware-specific report analyzes COVID-19 workers’ compensation claim activity using PCRB unit statistical, indemnity, and medical data through mid-2022. The report examines how claim patterns aligned with statewide infection trends, how COVID-19 claims differed from non-COVID-19 claims, and how benefit duration, medical utilization, and industry exposure evolved over time. The findings provide Pennsylvania stakeholders with a data-driven view of COVID-19’s localized impact on the workers’ compensation system.
-58%
Percentage of Delaware COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims originated in the healthcare sector, making it the single largest source of COVID-19 claim activity in the state
What’s in the report
- COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims in Delaware differ materially from typical claim patterns, with a much higher share of indemnity-only claims compared to non-COVID-19 claims
- While COVID-19 claims tend to resolve more quickly and with fewer weeks of temporary disability, lost-time COVID-19 claims show higher average severity while open than their non-COVID-19 counterparts
- COVID-19 claims generally closed faster than non-COVID-19 claims, though paid-to-paid+case ratios indicated greater uncertainty.
COVID-19 INSIGHTS PHASE II
This Delaware-specific report analyzes COVID-19 workers’ compensation claim activity using DCRB unit statistical, indemnity, and medical data through mid-2022. The report examines how claim patterns aligned with statewide infection trends, how COVID-19 claims differed from non-COVID-19 claims, and how benefit duration, medical utilization, and industry exposure evolved over time. The findings provide Delaware stakeholders with a data-driven view of COVID-19’s localized impact on the workers’ compensation system.
-4%
COVID-19 claims accounted for approximately 4% of all workers’ compensation claims reported in Accident Year 2021, reflecting a significant reduction from earlier pandemic periods
What’s in the report
- COVID-19 claim activity declined meaningfully in 2021 as the pandemic evolved, with reduced claim volume and lower overall system impact compared to the initial surge in 2020
- Indemnity-only claims continued to represent the largest share of COVID-19 claims, contributing to faster closures and lower average severities relative to typical lost-time claims
- COVID-19 claim experience remained highly concentrated in the healthcare sector, while most other industries experienced limited claim activity and loss impact
COVID-19 INSIGHTS
This report presents the first comprehensive, multi-jurisdictional analysis of COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims, developed through collaboration among CDRB, NCCI, and multiple state rating bureaus. Drawing on data from 45 jurisdictions, the study examines how pandemic-related claims differed from traditional workers’ compensation experience, with a focus on claim frequency, severity, closure patterns, and industry impacts. The findings provide valuable context for understanding how the system responded to an unprecedented public health event and where uncertainty remained as claims matured.
-7% vs. 2%
In the median state, COVID-19 claims accounted for approximately 7% of total workers’ compensation claims in 2020 but only about 2% of total incurred loss dollars, underscoring their limited aggregate cost impact relative to claim volume
What’s in the Report
- Across participating jurisdictions, COVID-19 claims represented a meaningful share of reported claim counts but a disproportionately small share of total incurred losses, reflecting the atypical composition of pandemic-related claims
- Indemnity-only claims accounted for a significantly larger share of COVID-19 claims than is typical in the workers’ compensation system, contributing to lower average severities and faster claim closure patterns
- COVID-19 claim experience varied widely by state, influenced by factors such as presumption legislation, timing of infection waves, and differences in economic and operational responses to the pandemic