Texas insurance carriers reported nearly 100,000 COVID-19 claims and 472 fatalities to the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC), according to a factsheet released this week by DWC. More than two-thirds of all COVID-19 claims (72%) involved injured employees who tested positive or were diagnosed with COVID-19, the factsheet found.
Insurance carriers denied 39% of COVID-19 positive test claims. More than 27,000 denials of COVID-19 claims with positive tests or diagnoses were reported as of April 30, 2023, with only 258 resulting in disputes filed with DWC.
COVID-19 claims by month peaked at 12,531 in January 2022. By April 2023, there were fewer than 300 claims.
First responders accounted for the most claims by occupation (43%).
Claimants aged 30-39 made up nearly one-third of all COVID-19 claims (30%), followed by age 20-29 years (24%) and 40-49 years (23%).
Insurance carriers and employers paid about $90.6 million in indemnity benefits on COVID-19 claims according to DWC’s administrative data.
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