Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the release of another edition of WCRI’s CompScope Benchmarks, which examined the Illinois system and found that indemnity benefits per claim in the state increased 11% in 2020.
Key findings included that two-thirds of the reported growth was driven by an increase in duration of temporary disability (about a week), and a third of the growth was driven by an increase in wages of workers with injuries. WCRI noted that aspects of the Illinois economy may have contributed to changes in indemnity benefits per claim, as unemployment rates in Illinois were higher than the national average in 2020 & 2021, which meant fewer jobs available for workers with injuries and, as a result, longer duration of temporary disability.