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Resources / Insights
10/15/2026
The insurance industry has approximately a 6:1 ratio of workers aged 55 and older to workers aged 20-241 , highlighting a growing gap between experienced professionals nearing retirement and the next generation entering the workforce. That ratio is behind many of the challenges that workers’ comp leaders discussed at National Comp 2026, held Sept. 29-30 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Speakers were candid about the challenges—a wave of retirements, increasingly complex claims, fast-moving AI—but also about the exciting solutions taking shape. Organizations are recruiting in new ways, investing in the next generation of claims professionals, rethinking what quality care looks like, and putting technology to work in support of people.
Here are the five themes we heard most often and the practical steps the industry is taking headed into 2027.
The insurance industry has a people problem: not enough of them. And it’s a problem that is accelerating. Nearly 80% of Gen Zers say they’ve never considered a career in insurance. And those who have often describe the field as “boring.”
The industry’s main issues? A perception problem and lack of visibility. Jim Frerking, Paradigm Senior Vice President, Sales, put it clearly: “[Insurance is] everywhere, it’s stable, but it’s not talked about much.”
During her session, “Claims 2.0: Talent, Teamwork & Transformation of Recruiting the Next Generation,” Kathy Galia, Paradigm President, Workers’ Compensation Solutions, made the case for showing young people what workers’ comp can offer: a stable career, financial security, and the opportunity to help people recover from workplace injuries. “We need to create an awareness for rising [high school] seniors that this is a solid and thriving industry that actually helps people,” said Galia.
Progress in action: Groups like Workers Compensation, Risk, Managed Care, and Claims (WRMC Inc.) and Rising Insurance Star Executives (RISE), both supported by Paradigm, are working to get the word out on those upsides.
“[New hires] may have tons of talent, but they don’t necessarily have the experience.” — Elizabeth Lowry, Paradigm Senior Vice President, Risk Solutions.
Hiring new talent is only half the challenge. The other half is closing the knowledge gap as veteran claims professionals retire in numbers large enough to be dubbed the “silver tsunami.”
When seasoned professionals leave, their hard-earned judgment goes with them. While AI is making it easier to preserve and access institutional knowledge, access to information isn’t the same as knowing how to apply it.
And it’s not only young workers who are being challenged. Workers’ comp grows more complex by day, driven by:
When someone misses a red flag on a claim or a treatment decision is delayed, that can prolong recovery, add costs, and create risks for employers, carriers, and injured workers.
Progress in action: Organizations are going well beyond onboarding. They’re investing in mentorship, structured learning, and better ways to capture institutional knowledge before experienced professionals retire.
Clinical education is also part of the answer. At National Comp, Michael Choo, MD, Paradigm Medical Director, Worker’s Compensation, and fellow physicians walked attendees through diagnoses that commonly complicate claims and shared the warning signs of a recovery that is about to stall.
“When we start to design the system for the right outcome, then we get the reduced costs. When we are designing it for reducing costs, we’re not necessarily going to get the right outcomes.”— Michael Stack, CEO, Amaxx
Controlling medical spend will always matter in workers’ comp, but there’s greater emphasis on the outcomes that spend delivers. That’s shifting the question from “What does it cost?” to “What does it accomplish?”
Jeff Ziblut, Paradigm Vice President, Post Acute Care Services, emphasized the importance of looking beyond the immediate cost of an intervention to its impact on recovery and overall outcomes. The lowest-cost intervention isn’t always the most effective, just as the highest-cost intervention isn’t always the best choice.
The stakes are especially high for the claims that drive disproportionate costs:
“Just paying less for something isn’t necessarily creating strong value,” said Lauren Rashford, Paradigm Vice President, Clinical Product Solutions. “Did it actually improve the outcome? Or did it simply reduce the price of inefficiency?”
That’s putting evidence-based treatment and a more complete understanding of injured workers’ health at the center of the conversation.
Progress in action: The strongest care decisions connect cost, evidence, and outcomes. Rashford suggested a three-part gut check for every care decision:
AI was discussed everywhere at National Comp, but it was rarely mentioned on its own. Conversations about automation and digital tools kept circling back to leadership, culture, and human judgment. The consensus: Technology can improve performance, but it can’t create success on its own.
Still, the potential upsides to AI and other digital tools are enormous. AI can help claims professionals:
For an industry short on staff and losing veteran expertise, that’s a meaningful boost. But a workers’ comp claim is more than data points. Treatment decisions and an injured worker’s personal circumstances all shape recovery. Recognizing what matters—and deciding what to do next—still requires human judgment.
Progress in action: New tools pay off when employees know how to use them, own the decisions they make, and keep learning as the tools evolve. Organizations that build a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous learning are those who are best positioned to navigate change and deliver better outcomes.
“The future is not about adding more programs [or] more complexity; it’s about creating greater predictability, clearer accountability, and simpler paths to recovery for the injured workers at hand.”— Lauren Rashford, Paradigm Vice President, Clinical Product Solutions
Complex claims don’t always start out that way. They often get there one small delay at a time:
Each of these missteps can add cost and slow recovery. That’s why National Comp attendees were eager to hear practical ways to streamline workflows and clear the barriers that hold up recovery and claim closure. The goal: faster, better decisions and stakeholders who are on the same page.
Progress in action: Over and over, we heard that operational excellence remains one of the most effective ways to improve worker outcomes while driving stronger program performance.
The fix isn’t adding another layer, it’s finding partners like Paradigm that can:
What happens next These five themes are all closely connected. A stronger recruitment pipeline gives the industry more talent to develop. Mentorship and clinical education evolve talented employees into experienced ones. And human judgment, backed by the right technology and processes, leads to better care decisions. Together, these steps can help a claim from becoming one of the 5% that drive 80% of costs.2
The common denominator is people: the ones the industry still needs to recruit, the veterans whose knowledge it can’t afford to lose, and the clients, injured workers, and providers at the center of every claim.
1 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2 Christian, J. (2006). ACOEM Practice Guidelines and Clinical Foundations for Return-to-Work Outcomes. American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
