New NCCI Research Examines Demographic Shifts and Medical Utilization in Workers Compensation

WHAT:
The share of lost-time claims involving workers aged 65 and older doubled, rising from 4% in Accident Year 2012 to 8% in 2025. Similarly, the share of claims involving female workers increased over the study period, rising from 33% in Accident Year 2012 to 36% in 2025.

This report uses NCCI medical claims data to examine how changes in the age and gender demographic of injured workers relate to medical utilization and what factors explain those differences.

KEY FINDINGS:

• Age and gender gaps in medical care are driven by diagnosis mix, treated comorbidities, and job types.
• Claims for workers aged 65 and older have doubled since 2012 and require 21% more care on average, primarily due to chronic health conditions and diagnoses.
• Claims for male workers require 28% more care on average than claims for female workers, primarily due to industry mix and diagnosis types.

WHY IT MATTERS:

When looking at age specifically, these shifts in demographic trends matter because age can reflect underlying physical vulnerabilities and health history, not because age alone determines treatment.

Gender differences follow a similar pattern. Lower average medical utilization among female workers is not caused by women seeking healthcare differently. Instead, the utilization gender gap is driven by how men and women are represented across industry classes and the resulting diagnosis mix.

As the workforce evolves, demographic shifts will reshape the distribution and shares of key claim characteristics and comorbidities, which in turn will drive changes in expected claim intensity. Understanding these underlying drivers can help improve future utilization projections and provide valuable insight into emerging trends in workers compensation medical severity.

Check out: Demographic Shifts and Medical Utilization the for the full findings.

and

2026 Legislative and Regulatory Trends With Tim Tucker - State of the Line Podcast

In the latest State of the Line Podcast, NCCI expert Tim Tucker returns to unpack the 2026 Legislative and Regulatory Trends Report. Tim joins host Cristine Pike to talk about how this year's bill mix shifted toward worker classification and portable benefits, what's happening in mental injury legislation, and the emerging issues NCCI is watching. He also gives a high-level look at the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP) and why it matters for workers compensation.

Listen at ncci.com/Podcast or stream wherever you listen to podcasts.

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