Florida, Texas report surge in COVID-19 comp claims
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COVID-19 workers compensation claims in Florida more than doubled in July from the previous month, according to a report released Monday by the Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation, which has been tracking income-replacement comp claims since the start of the pandemic.
Texas also saw a sharp increase in COVID-19-related comp claims in July.
The 1,454 claims reported in July — up from 634 in June and 773 in May — were in line with the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Florida. The monthly report, which tracks indemnity — or income replacement — claims, peaked at 8,403 claims in July 2020. Last month’s total nearly mirrored that of April, when 1,447 claims were reported.
Overall, employers in Florida have paid $49 million in COVID-19 comp claims, averaging $3,040 per claim, according to the report.
The Texas Department of Insurance released a COVID-19 claims report Monday, showing a similar surge in July: 861, compared with 359 in June.
As of Aug. 1 in Texas, insurers had reported 50,460 COVID-19 claims and 269 fatalities to the Department of Workers’ Compensation since March 2020. Sixty-five percent of the claims and fatalities involved health care workers, social workers, first responders and correctional officers, according to the report.
The Texas data show insurers denied 14,000 COVID-19 claims with positive tests or diagnoses but there had only been 112 disputes filed as of Aug. 1.
Texas has also tallied vaccine reaction comp claims since workers became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. From Dec. 15, 2020, through Aug. 1, insurers reported 513 COVID-19 vaccine reaction claims to the state.
