Filed workers' comp, liability claims against public sector grew in 2008

Workers' compensation and liability claims filed against the public sector grew at a significant rate in 2008, according to new data from the Public Entity Risk Institute.

PERI, a nonprofit research institute focused on risk management training and education, recently announced significant growth in the number of claims this year in the Data Exchange, a risk management benchmarking and performance management program that supports public sector organizations in analyzing liability and workers' comp claims. The program is open to all governmental entities capable of collecting claims and profile data.

In 2008, researchers found that the total claims count in the Data Exchange reached unprecedented levels with the number of workers' comp claims increasing 342 percent and liability claims jumping 322 percent over the same period in 2007. The number of public entities submitting claims to the Data Exchange also realized considerable growth with participation increasing more than 50 percent for workers' comp and more than 68 percent for liability.

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"The record growth that we have seen in the Data Exchange this year signifies increased awareness on the part of government entities of the value of benchmarking and performance measurement to control costs," said Mary Stewart, director of research and development at PERI. "In this current economic climate, government entities of all sizes are challenged to find more ways to curb costs while maintaining expected levels of service. The Data Exchange is gaining broad recognition as a powerful tool for assisting governments in identifying areas where improvements can be made to reduce expenditures."

Participants in the Data Exchange include cities and towns, counties, higher education institutions, housing authorities, public school districts, public transit agencies, special districts, and 29 state governments. Many of these government entities are represented by public entity risk pools. Currently, 51 risk pools are contributing workers' comp data, and 26 pools are providing liability data for the Data Exchange.

January 8, 2009

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