To some employees, collecting workers’ comp looks better than collecting unemployment.
And for companies, that could mean more workers trying to game the system in the upcoming months.
That’s the warning from Willis’ 2009 edition of Marketplace Realities & Risk Management Solutions.
The insurance brokerage expects rising unemployment to produce “an increase in both claim frequency and the length of time injured workers remain out” just because some workers may see comp as more lucrative than unemployment benefits.
So workers may be tempted to fake or exaggerate injuries, or even claim an old one is “acting up again.”
There is a counterpoint view.
Some economists believe comp claims could decrease because companies usually retain their more experienced — and safer — employees, and workers could be concerned that claims would jeopardize their jobs.
Have you ever contested an employee’s workers’ comp claim? You can let us know — anonymously — in the Comments Box below.
