2019 Aon Retail Benchmark Study: Workers’ Compensation, General Liability, and Auto Liability

2019 Aon Retail Benchmark Study: Workers’ Compensation, General Liability, and Auto Liability

Aon estimates retailers will continue to experience modest declines in Workers’ Compensation loss costs in 2020. Loss costs for General and Auto Liability continue to increase, driven by increases in claim severity.

The 2019 edition of the Aon Retail Benchmark study estimates ultimate loss rates in 2019 to be:

• $1.47 per $100 of payroll for Workers’ Compensation
• $0.77 per $1,000 of sales for General Liability
• $1,485 per vehicle for Auto Liability

Workers’ Compensation Results
Loss costs vary by retailer type and by state. The study finds that variation between retailer types is primarily driven by claim frequency: Specialty Retailers have the lowest loss costs and Grocers have the highest loss costs. Variation in loss costs by state is primary driven by claim severity: Texas has the lowest loss costs and California has the highest.

General Liability Results
The study examines loss costs by retailer type and finds similar variations driven by claim frequency. Grocers and Department stores have the highest General Liability loss rates and Specialty retailers have the lowest.

Auto Liability Results
The Auto Liability analysis is new to the 2019 edition of the benchmark study. The analysis finds that Auto loss costs are increasing at a 3% annual rate since 2012.

Download the Executive Summary of the 2019 Retail Benchmark Analysis.

Methodology
Forty-two retailers participated in the 2019 benchmark study by providing loss and exposure data for each line of business. We estimate the database represents approximately 10 percent of the retail industry in the United States. Various actuarial techniques were applied to the data to produce the estimates in the study.