Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the California WCIRB’s recent release of the 2023 update to its COVID-19 in California Workers’ Compensation report, which details the characteristics of COVID-19 claims in the state and their impact on its workers’ comp system.
Key findings from the report included that since Omicron, COVID-19 claims have represented 2 percent of all indemnity claims. Accident year (AY) 2022 COVID-19 claims are emerging as much less severe than those from AYs 2020 and 2021, partially due to a higher share of claims with incurred indemnity but no incurred medical loss (indemnity-only claims). At later report levels, AYs 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 claims remain less likely to be classified as permanent disability claims than non-COVID-19 claims.