Conning Report: Wearable Technology May Help U.S. Workers’ Compensation Insurers Reduce Claims and “Preserve the Reserve”

While the U.S. workers’ compensation market is experiencing a stellar run of low combined ratios, two factors pose significant risk: an aging workforce and diminishing returns from existing risk mitigation efforts. Mounting evidence suggests that the profitability concern may be a more current than future threat.

Many insurers have tapped reserves to mask this deterioration and maintain an appearance of healthy combined ratios, but this suboptimal approach could contribute to reserve declines. What can workers’ compensation firms do to keep frequency lower and “preserve the reserve”?

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Conning believes the answer may lie with “wearable” technology, a broad term referring to devices worn by workers that monitor a worker’s physical condition and movements as well as measure and detect surrounding environmental hazards. “Wearable technology can guide workers away from dangerous situations or from engaging in activities that could result in a severe injury and an expensive workers’ compensation claim,” said Jay Sarzen, a Director of Insurance Research at Conning.

The Conning report, Wearable Technology’s Slow Acceleration to ‘Preserve the Reserve‘, highlights the most prevalent wearable technology devices and details their functionality. The report also includes a comprehensive survey of 60 senior workers’ compensation insurance executives that highlights current executive sentiment about wearable devices (such as efficacy and ROI), what is being done to encourage wearable usage among insureds, the potential for future wearable technology adoption, and potential adoption obstacles.

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