Chicago, IL – Rising Medical Solutions today announced the release of its 13th annual Workers’ Compensation Benchmarking Study Report. The newly published report reveals that higher performing workers’ compensation claims organizations are not necessarily distinguished by different priorities, but by how effectively they execute them. While many organizations are investing in similar workforce, technology, and operational initiatives, the study findings show significant differences in how those investments are translated into measurable results.
Based on a nationwide survey of claims leaders that was conducted in late 2025, the 2025 Report explores a question facing many payers: Why do organizations pursuing similar priorities achieve such varied outcomes? Using the study’s signature comparison of Higher Performers (organizations with claim closure ratios of 101% or greater) and Lower Performers (100% or below), the latest findings point to a consistent answer: the greatest performance differences emerge through execution.
“One of the most interesting findings this year is that higher performers are managing more complex claim inventories than their peers, yet they’re still closing claims faster,” said Rachel Fikes, Chief Experience Officer and Study Program Director at Rising. “The strongest claims organizations aren’t distinguished by what lands on their desks. They’re distinguished by what happens after it does.”
Four Ways High Performers Separate Themselves
The 2025 Report organizes its findings around four patterns that demonstrate how higher performing claims organizations operationalize strategy and transform priorities into everyday execution.
- They Choose Better. Higher performers rely more heavily on frontline insight and operational data to identify improvement opportunities, prioritize investments, and select high-value initiatives.
- They Reduce Friction. Higher performers are more effective at identifying operational pain points and designing solutions that reduce administrative burden, simplify workflows, and improve day-to-day claims execution, contributing to stronger gains in staff efficiency.
- They Drive Adoption. Higher performers actively engage frontline staff throughout implementation, using pilot programs and feedback loops to test, refine, and improve solutions before scaling them across the organization. They are also significantly more likely to foster innovation and change adoption through leadership behavior modeling.
- They Build Strength. Higher performers invest more heavily in workforce development, knowledge transfer, leadership readiness, and organizational capabilities that support ongoing improvement and future performance.
While the performance gaps associated with individual practices vary from modest to major, the findings suggest that their true impact emerges when they work together. Higher performing organizations consistently demonstrate strength across multiple dimensions of execution, creating a cumulative advantage that can compound over time. Rather than approaching improvement initiatives in isolation, they align people, process, technology, and culture in ways that reinforce one another and drive stronger outcomes.
“What I find most encouraging about this year’s findings is that many of the differentiators we identified are largely within an organization’s control,” said Fikes. “Organizations can’t always change evolving workforce demographics, claim complexity, or external market conditions. But they can improve how they identify opportunities, reduce friction, drive adoption, and build organizational strength. That’s what makes these findings so actionable.”
Continuing its tradition of industry contribution, the 2025 Study Report is available to all stakeholders at no cost.
Request the report here: Rising 2025 Workers’ Compensation Benchmarking Study Report
Beyond the Report
Members of the Study Advisory Council will explore the practical implications of the Report’s findings at National Comp 2026 on September 29 at 11:00 a.m. PT. During the session, “Navigating What’s Next: A Data-Backed Roadmap for Claims Success,” Fikes will moderate a panel featuring Denise Algire (Albertsons Companies), Stacey Foote (The MEMIC Group), and Leslie Dunham (Travelers Insurance). Panelists will share industry leader perspectives on the findings, real-world applications of the research, and the operational practices that consistently distinguish high performing organizations.
Source: Rising
Disclosure:
Rising has advertised with WorkCompWire.
This is NOT a paid placement.