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The combined ratio for workers’ compensation lines of insurance tends to go up and down but a new study from Fitch Ratings, “U.S. Workers’ Compensation Market Update” shows that the last few years have yielded a substantial profit for the industry.

The report says that in 2011 the combined ratio was 117% which was on the higher end of what property and casualty typically sees. In 2015 the report states that the combined ratio had dropped to 95%. Authors of the study attribute this not just to an improving economy overall, but also to premium increases, improved loss reserve experience and stable loss cost trends. There were a few companies who saw significant growth over the past few years while others reduced their premiums and experienced losses.

Fitch does not expect the profitability to last too much longer, expecting the losses to return in 2017.

“…This performance will likely be unsustainable as price competition intensifies due in part to abundant market capacity,” said the Managing Director of Fitch, Jim Auden.

So what does all that mean for you? Even though the market is enjoying some profitability it may not last. Savings start at the source and if you’re working with an inefficient claims system you may be paying more than you should and not getting your workers back to work as quickly as you could. According to NCCI, claim expenses can largely be attributed to LAE and Medical Loss and medical costs continue to increase. A system that can auto-adjudicate incoming documents to filter out unnecessary or easy-to-handle documents can not only save your adjusters time but reduce your medical spend by evaluating for relatedness and appropriateness.