Accrued Workers' Compensation Costs

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

The following table summarizes the accrued workers’ compensation cost activity for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020:


	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
(in millions)	2021		2020		2021		2020
Total accrued costs, beginning of period	$	205	$	217	$	205	$	214
Incurred
Current year	18		13		33		33
Prior years	(12)		(6)		(15)		(9)
Total incurred	6		7		18		24
Paid
Current year	(2)		(2)		(3)		(3)
Prior years	(11)		(11)		(22)		(24)
Total paid	(13)		(13)		(25)		(27)
Total accrued costs, end of period	$	198	$	211	$	198	$	211

The following summarizes workers' compensation liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets:


(in millions)	June 30, 2021		December 31, 2020
Total accrued costs, end of period	$	198	$	205
Collateral paid to carriers and offset against accrued costs	(8)		(8)
Total accrued costs, net of carrier collateral offset	$	190	$	197

Payable in less than 1 year (net of collateral paid to carriers of $3 at June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively)	$	57	$	59
Payable in more than 1 year (net of collateral paid to carriers of $5 at June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively)	133		138
Total accrued costs, net of carrier collateral offset	$	190	$	197

Incurred claims related to prior years represent changes in estimates for ultimate losses on workers' compensation claims. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, the change was primarily due to lower than expected claim frequency.

As of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had $44 million and $45 million, respectively, of collateral held by insurance carriers of which $8 million for both periods was offset against accrued workers' compensation costs as the agreements permit and are net settled of insurance obligations against collateral held.