3 Ways Agents Can Help Workers Comp Clients as Claims Surge

• By: Olivia Overman
• June 15, 2026

An aging workforce is emerging as one of the key drivers of rising workers compensation costs, according to Sedgwick’s “2025 State of the Line Workers Compensation Report.” The 60-and-older age group was the only cohort to record a year-over-year increase in claim volume, rising 1.1% from 2024 to 2025, the report said. 

Also notable is that the 60-plus age group has posted the largest percentage increase in workers comp claim volume for five consecutive years, underscoring the ongoing impact of an aging workforce on claim patterns, according to the Sedgewick report.  

The reason for such increases is that “life expectancy as a whole was at an all-time high of 79 years in 2024, according to the CDC, and Americans aren’t just living longer, they’re also working longer too,” says Tony Foley, executive vice president, workers comp, Amwins. “The rising cost of healthcare, the decline of defined benefit plans, and improved overall health are enabling more employees to work well into their sixties and even longer.”

This trend of employing workers 60 and older is expected to continue “because the younger workforce is just not coming in as fast as it should be,” says Laura Page, director, Green Tree Risk Partners. “We’re going to continue to see that until we get new systems, including artificial intelligence (AI), that we can trust.”

“I think AI is so new that we don’t fully trust it, and until we can fully trust that system and the technology that we have in place, we’re going to continue to overuse the experienced mind of somebody 60-plus,” Page says.

As workers aged 65 and older are projected to experience the fastest growth in the labor force, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment projections for 2023-33, from 6.7% to 8.6%, the workers comp market will continue to be affected by these employees.

“Claims involving older employees tend to be more medically complex, with more severe injuries and longer recovery timelines,” says Dan Garrett, chief claims officer at Broadspire. “When injuries do occur, older workers often need extended treatment and recovery, which contributes to higher incurred costs and longer claim durations.”

As they work with clients, agents should gain an understanding of the company demographics and ensure the following procedures are in place:

1) Safety program. “First and foremost, a safety training program must be put in place, whether it’s in person or having access to online resources or a combination of both,” Foley says. “Make sure all the workers are using proper techniques, using all the proper safety equipment that is provided.” 

Additionally, “the aging workforce is pushing employers and third-party administrators (TPAs) to place greater focus on loss prevention, ergonomic assessments, and early clinical intervention,” Garrett says. “Proactively identifying risk factors and managing care early can materially influence outcomes, especially for older injured workers, where delays often lead to higher costs.”

2) Return to work program. “Encourage your insured to make sure they’ve got reasonable accommodations in place for injured workers, so you can enable them to return to work as quick as possible,” Foley says.

However, “for older workers, return-to-work planning often calls for more thoughtful job modifications, ergonomic accommodations or transitional duty strategies,” Garrett says. “Employers without flexible return-to-work programs may face higher indemnity exposure and increased litigation risk when recovery expectations aren’t well managed.”

3) Open communication. “Encourage the client to have open dialogue with their employees to make sure that they’re in the right job position and maybe discuss options with the employee if a less physically demanding job would be more appropriate,” Foley says.

“Traditionally, employers and agents were not looking at the overall health and makeup of an organization when evaluating workers comp exposures. That has changed,” Page says. “With an aging workforce, employers need to understand how employee demographics impact safety, productivity, injury recovery times and claim costs. Agents who help clients address these challenges proactively will be in a much better position to control losses and improve outcomes.”

The demographic shift has important implications for the workers comp market and agents need to be aware of the expected growth in older employees. 

“From a market perspective, the growth in claims among older employees reinforces the need for more data-driven claim triage, integrated medical and return to work strategies, and enhanced communication to support injured worker engagement and expectations,” Garrett says. “These capabilities are increasingly seen as differentiators in a workers comp environment shaped by demographic change.”

Olivia Overman is IA content editor.