Research

CWCI's second ICIS Industry Score Card profiles workers' compensation claims experience for professional and clerical workers in California. Based on a sample of 361,384 claims for injuries occurring between 2000 and 2008.

Mercantile workers represented 1 out of 8 California job injury claims and a similar proportion of paid losses during the 8-year period spanning accident years (AY) 2001 through 2008. Comparing results by individual accident year, however, shows mercantile claims as a percentage of all claims fell steadily across this period.

This Score Card focuses on California workers' compensation claims filed by Agriculture workers. It is the fourth in a series of analyses that provide data from CWCI's Industry Claims Information System (ICIS) database on claims experience within specific industry categories.

Claims by durable goods manufacturing workers declined from 1 in 9 California job injuries in 2001 to less than 1 in 14 claims in 2008, underscoring the steep decline in manufacturing in the state, but average claim costs in this sector have jumped sharply since 2005, with both medical and indemnity benefit payments on the rise.

A CWCI analysis of claims data from California public self-insured employers finds that paid and incurred losses on those claims peaked in FY 02/03, then declined sharply, albeit briefly, following the '02-04 reforms.

CWCI's latest "Industry Score Card" provides detailed data on AY 2000 to 2008 claims experience among nondurable goods manufacturing workers in California. The new Score Card is based on a review of 136,742 job injury claims filed by workers involved in the manufacture of "soft goods" that are typically used or need to be replaced within a relatively short period – for example food items, apparel, and plastic goods.