Data tells a different story: AmTrust Financial busts myths on older worker injuries

July 8, 2025

This article is sponsored by AmTrust Financial.

Employees are opting to retire later – and the workers' compensation landscape is having to pivot to suit these new demographics.

As America’s workforce continues to age, more and more employees are opting to retire later – and the workers' compensation landscape is having to pivot to suit these new demographics. Once-prevailing misconceptions about older workers are being re-examined as new data surfaces, revealing surprising trends in injury frequency, severity, and recovery outcomes. 

“Historically, the assumptions have been that older workers work more safely, and they’re injured less frequently but when they are injured, those claims tend to be more expensive,” explained Matt Zender (pictured), senior vice president of workers’ compensation strategy at AmTrust Financial. 

But that’s changing - and quickly. Not because the risks have disappeared but because the composition and behavior of the workforce are shifting. Data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) found a marked difference in how injury frequency is dropping across age bands – showing that in the 20 to 24 age band, injuries have dropped from 2006 to 2017 by 34%, whereas the above-65 demographic has only dropped by 19%.

“While the assumption that older workers claims are more expensive is true, we've always thought it was because they were injured from an impairment perspective, but that's not the case,” added Zender. “NCCI data shows that the impairment rating for workers under 29 years old is around six percent while the impairment rating for over 65 is around seven percent - so that's about the same. What’s more, we're also seeing that tenure matters, the longer someone’s been working in a job the more likely they are to work safely.”

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