The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) published a new report on Adverse Weather and Workers’ Compensation Claims, analyzing NCCI data from 35 states from 2001-2022 to examine the link between weather and claim frequency.
The report found that both hot and cold daily temperatures are associated with more workers’ comp claims than days with mild temperatures, with up to 10% higher claim frequency. Frequency impacts of heat increased with daily high temperature, while frequency impacts from cold are largest for temperatures around freezing temperatures.
Temperature can be especially impactful for certain injuries and jobs, with frequency effects of hot days largest in outdoor sectors, especially construction. Cold and wet days have many more slip and fall injuries, as well as motor vehicle accidents.
Frequency increases due to temperatures at the upper and lower end of the range are large and statistically significant throughout the sample period but were slightly smaller in the 2010s and 2020s than in the 2000s.
Since the pandemic, injury frequency on very cold days is lower, perhaps due to an increase in hybrid and remote work
An increased number of hot days relative to each city’s own standards is likely to result in a similar-sized effect on workers’ comp claims in both warmer and cooler cities. An increase in winter precipitation is likely to affect workers’ comp claims primarily in colder cities, which have more days with temperatures near freezing.
The increase in claim frequency with higher temperatures is a significant insight from this report, as the ongoing discussion of climate change and its impact on workers’ comp continues, with many discussing the need for heat protections in light of greater risks to worker safety.
For instance, earlier this year the WCRI published a report that measured the extent to which excessive heat has increased the incidence of work-related injuries in recent years.
Using claim data and weather data from 2016-2021 across 24 states, the WCRI reviewed direct heat-related injuries – where the effect of heat on one’s body leads to heat exhaustion, fainting, or cramps – and indirect heat-related injuries, when heat impairs the perceptual, motor, or cognitive abilities of workers, leading to accidents.
The probability of work-related accidents increased by 5-6% when the maximum daily temperature rises above 90°F, when compared to a day in the 65-70°F range.
This effect is even stronger in the South, with injury frequency increasing 9-11% when temperatures are above 90°F. For construction workers, injury frequency increased 8% in temperatures above 90°F.
Additionally, the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) published a report that reviews the relationship between extreme temperatures and higher rates of on-the-job injuries. Based on an analysis of nearly 95,000 workers’ comp claims from May through September for years 2017-2021, the report found that claims were 45% more likely to occur when the heat index is over 80°F, while severity increased by 20%.
