A new study issued by the New School, a university in New York City, finds that Workers’ Compensation benefits in New York State remain surprisingly low while insurance company profits are soaring.
New York has some of the lowest minimum and maximum weekly benefit levels in the Northeast. The weekly minimum for temporary total disability, for example, is $150, less than 15 other states and less than half the average amount of five surrounding states. The maximum for TTD in New York in 2017 was $871, well below the neighboring states’ average of $1,180. New York was the first state to adopt workers’ compensation more than a century ago, and fairly compensating injured employees was the guiding principal for decades, the study found. But recent legislative changes, including significant revisions in 2007 and 2017, have been geared toward minimizing employer costs and boosting insurance carrier profits, the authors said.
As injured worker benefits drop, insurance industry profits are higher than ever, up 92% between 2014 and 2017, even as payouts total just 55% of premiums. Data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shows that in 2017 and for the first time over the 14-year period that the workers’ comp insurance performance data has been compiled, profits on insurance transactions exceeded investment gains. Overall, those profit margins stood at 17.3%, the study shows. “Workers’ compensation insurers’ profits in New York exceeded $1 billion for the first time,” the authors of the New School study noted.
With New York Workers’ Compensation dropping, injured workers need the best representation possible so they don’t lose even more. Contact Hurwitz, Whitcher & Molloy today!