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Claim Frequency Trends Vary by Industry and State Despite Continued Overall Decline

23 Jul, 2026 NCCI

                               

NCCI’s latest report, Exploring Workers Compensation Trends by Industry and State, digs into the details and why it matters.

Key Takeaway

While lost-time claim frequency continues its long-term downward trend, significant differences remain across industries and jurisdictions.

Industry Insights

  • Since 2021, most industries have experienced average annual claim frequency declines of at least 5%.
  • Health Care, Office, and Private Education have shown more moderate changes, with 2023–2024p frequency trends remaining relatively flat.
    • Frequency in these industries is not declining at the same pace as others, and the factors driving these trends vary by industry.

State and Jurisdiction Insights

  • District of Columbia (DC) and Nevada (NV) are the only jurisdictions showing increasing overall claim frequency trends since 2021.
  • Although Hawaii (HI), DC, NV, and Florida (FL) each have more than 10% of market share concentrated in Leisure & Hospitality (L&H), only DC and NV have experienced increases in both overall frequency and L&H claim frequency.
    • These findings suggest that Leisure & Hospitality may be a significant contributor to overall frequency increases in DC and NV.

Looking Ahead

While frequency increases are occurring within certain industries and jurisdictions, NCCI is not seeing a systematic turn in frequency overall.

Every state and every industry have their own story. Understanding differences across industries and states can help stakeholders stay ahead of potential market shifts in a changing environment.

New Resource Available: Industry Trend Dashboard

NCCI is expanding access to industry-level insights through the new Industry Trend Dashboard.

The dashboard enables authenticated users to:

  • Analyze workers compensation trends at the countrywide, state, or multistate level
  • Compare their own book of business against broader industry experience
  • Access aggregate industry-level workers compensation data and trends

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