Workplace violence is increasingly a central driver of claim frequency, severity, and complexity in workers’ compensation.
New data from National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) suggests that nonfatal workplace assaults are rising steadily. According to NCCI’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics injury data, workplace assaults increased at an average annual rate of 5.3% between 2011 and 2021–22. Over the same period, the rate of assaults per 10,000 full-time equivalent workers surged by 62%, while the share of assaults among all Days Away From Work (DAFW) cases nearly doubled, peaking at 2.3% in 2019.
Greg McKenna (pictured), national practice leader – public sector at Gallagher Bassett, told Insurance Business that workplace violence is no longer a fringe exposure.
“These incidents are becoming more common and are now a growing component of workplace injuries. In many ways, the underlying formula hasn’t changed – risk, exposure, and scale – but the types of risks have shifted toward human interaction rather than purely physical hazards,” McKenna said. “There’s a growing recognition (within the insurance industry) that these trends aren’t isolated. There’s an expectation that claims involving intentional acts will make up a larger share of overall losses.”
Historically, workplace injuries were dominated by physical hazards tied to an industrial economy, such as machinery, heat, gravity, and repetitive motion. But as the US economy transitioned into a service-based model, risks evolved to include ergonomic strain and customer-facing exposures.
Today, a digital, “on-demand” economy has expanded the definition of the workplace, placing more employees in dynamic, less controlled environments. Workers are interacting with the public more frequently, often under heightened expectations for speed and service. Those expectations, McKenna noted, are contributing to more volatile interactions.
“What’s notable over the past several years is the emergence of new, less predictable forces, including changes in public behavior, expectations around speed and service, and broader social and economic pressures,” he said. “People today tend to have less patience and higher expectations, which can lead to more volatile interactions.”
Unlike traditional hazards, he added, these human-driven risks are difficult to engineer out of the workplace. While employers can install guardrails or redesign workflows to mitigate physical dangers, preventing a violent outburst is far less straightforward.
The rise in workplace violence is not evenly distributed. NCCI’s findings show a heavy concentration in the healthcare and social assistance sector, where the number of assaults is ten times higher than in the next largest sector, retail trade.
Healthcare workers, educators, and public-facing employees have long faced elevated risks. But recent years have brought a noticeable escalation, particularly in severity. McKenna pointed to a longitudinal study by Gallagher Bassett of public-sector clients, including schools and municipalities, which revealed a sharp increase in claims involving educators injured by students. Following the return to in-person learning after the pandemic, these claims rose by approximately 25% to 26% over two years and have remained elevated.
“These aren’t just more frequent claims,” he said. “They’re more complex. They tend to involve more complex injuries, more mental health impacts, longer recovery periods, and in some cases, more permanent impacts.”
Demographically, women face a higher risk of workplace assault, while workers aged 20 to 34 experience a disproportionate share of incidents. The vast majority (nearly 93%) involve physical acts such as hitting, kicking, or beating.
As the trend gains momentum, insurers and risk managers are placing greater emphasis on prevention and preparedness. Workplace violence prevention programs are becoming more standardized, particularly in jurisdictions with regulatory requirements.
These programs typically include environmental risk assessments, access controls, and confidential reporting systems designed to identify early warning signs. Training in de-escalation techniques is increasingly being adopted in healthcare and education settings.
Equally important is fostering a culture of reporting, McKenna stressed. Employees in sectors like healthcare and education have historically underreported incidents, often out of concern for colleagues or patients. This is changing as organizations and unions encourage transparency.
“Ultimately, it comes down to awareness, communication, and consistency,” McKenna said. “You can’t eliminate the risk entirely, but you can make incremental improvements by staying focused and proactive.”
