The 2019 Self Insured Resolutions analysis follows the same path as the voluntary market 2019 resolutions published last week.   

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Follow these links back to look those over for your 2019 resolutions:  

• 2016 Self Insured Resolutions
• 2017 Self Insured Resolutions 
• 2018 Self Insured Resolutions 

The 2019 Self insured resolutions are modifications to the 2018 Resolutions.   In other words, did you do the 2016 – 2018 resolutions?  The 2017 and 2018 Self Insured Resolutions were:

2017 Resolutions – Still important

1. Obtain and know your LDF (Loss Development Factor)  – still as important as ever.  If you do not know where you are on the map, how can you find your way anywhere?  
2. Working relationship with adjusters – the adjusters are spending directly out of a budget or bank account.  Communicating by email (see #3) lets the adjusting staff know that your company  follows the workers compensation payouts very closely. 
3. Use email – not phone calls
4. Conquer Your TPA expenses – Self Insureds are sounding off on this one in late 2018 and early 2019.  Many of our potential and current clients have taken notice of their sharply increased TPA expenses.  Do not ignore this area!
5. Watch the Learning Curve for Accident Spikes – when the economy increases, so do claims.  The increases are a natural result of more work hours.  Safety becomes even more important.  
6. Use online access when available
7. Attend A Workers Comp or Safety Conference 
8. Subscribe to our weekly Newsletter
9. Obtain Your Loss Runs – you have these at your fingertips, right?  If not,  you are not following your claims closely enough to make an impact.
10. Write an article on Workers Comp . 

 2018 Resolutions – Finish these up

You did these in 2018, No, then what are you waiting on to Cut Your Comp Costs and fulfill your 2019 self insured resolutions?

1. Not being Self Insured  is an option.  Employers need to have a large amount of cash or equity on hand to handle claims.  Reinsurance can only do so much if your company has a bad claims year or two. 
2. Construct a Request For Proposal (RFP) – See #4 in the 2017 Resolutions.  An RFP remains a great risk management technique to control TPA expenses.  
3. Unbundle your required vendor services with multiple RFPs – still a great method to save on claim expense payments. 
4. Ad-hoc  print your loss runs – you did obtain this ability from your TPA?  No?, then do something about it now.
5. Working relationship with adjusters – a self insured must do this from day one with their respective TPA’s adjusters.  You do know their name, right?  If not, find that out this week.  
6.  Each state in which you operate has its own set of minimum rules for being self-insured – for companies considering becoming self insured.   One very common minimum is $500,000 of liquid assets in that state.   You cannot have just $1.3 million in your HQ state and count that asset figure in every state of your operation.  Each and every state must have the $500,000 (Ouch!)
7. An alternative to LDF’s – Loss Development Factors is SynthMods(R).   We calculate those for self insureds.  They are basically E-Mods instead of LDF’s.  SynthMods rate your company with the Experience Mods like you were still in a regular workers comp policy.   They are an alternative to LDF’s.   I am calculating one now for a self insured governmental agency.   
8. Understand all your TPA expenses.  That is a holdover from above 2017 resolutions.  Why does this one appear twice?  Self insureds have become very aware of increasing TPA expenses – these also include the vendors the TPA uses if you have not chosen your own vendors.   
9. Take your self insured program in- house.   A very tough choice.  The final result is a sharp reduction in the claims handling and payment budgets.  Watch the Law of Large Numbers here.   You need to have a large workers comp budget to do the claims in-house.   
10. Go back and read all the resolutions I have written.  Even if the resolutions are not specifically for self insureds, you can glean great information.  The resolution search is  here.
11. Bonus – Full online access to your claims – you did obtain full access.  No? Then contact your TPA today. 

There are many more resolutions which could be added to the list.   The bottom line is your company needs to stop and make sure all the bases are covered using the 2016 – 2018 resolutions.   Yes, a serious 2016 – 2018 resolution review equates to having finished your 2019 self insured resolutions. 

2019 Workers Comp Resolutions – Did You Keep Yours From 2018? 

Your 2019 Workers Comp Resolutions likely consist of redoing your 2018 resolutions.   Yes, it is that time of year to examine your old resolutions and add on a few more.  

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A resolutions article has appeared in the Cutcompcosts.com articles since 2010.   A self insured article on resolutions will be published next week.  Keeping the two (voluntary market vs. self insured) separate remains the best method to go over each year’s resolutions.   

I very heavily recommend that you follow this link to the 2018 resolutions.  The article is very well worth reading again or for the first time.   How to accomplish each task is enumerated in that article.   I would love to republish it here bu Google, Bing, and the other search engines penalize duplicate content. 

Voluntary Market 2018 Resolutions  – Top 10 + 3 Bonus

The 2019 Workers Comp resolutions are not going to change that much for this year from 2018.  I decided to list each resolution again.  Check out the italicized words for any addition to the 2018 resolutions. 

The 2019 workers comp resolutions are almost the same as 2018.   If you completed all these congrats – if not – see the resolutions again below.   Also, I have added in some comments on a few of the Top 13 that wrecked Mods for some of our new clients.  That is why they called or emailed us for assistance. 

From last year, the Top 13 are:

1. Understanding the mechanics of the WC process – from the start of the policy renewal until final premium audit – read everything that has to do with the policy.  Most of the process is laid out in the policy.  A highlighter is your best tool.   <<<Did you read your workers comp policy last year – if not, get out the highlighter or delegate the task if you do not have the time to someone that can report any questions or concerns back to you.  
2. Following the Six Keys to Workers Comp Savings – the prior link has all of them.   I have studied what cost employers premiums and not doing the Six Keys causes premiums to spike.  The spike may not occur this year or the next, but not doing them will cause your premiums to increase eventually.  The Keys have not changed since 1988 except that I added two additional keys in the 1990’s. 
3. Knowing where every dollar is going when you write a premium check – Old Motto – Stop Just Writing Checks
4. Having your Workers Comp Rating Bureau Experience Mod Worksheets at your fingertips – can often change in one year. <<Did your Workers Comp Mod increase significantly?  If so, you need to find out why pronto.  Why? – Because any claim or claims that increased your Mod is likely going to hang around for three years.  You cannot look at it like an aberration or just “one bad year.”  Experience Mods do not work that way.  If you had a bad claim last year or a number of claims, the Mod system is designed as a delayed system.  Your Mod may jump significantly the  second year after a bad claims year, not the first. 
5. Retaining your WC info permanently – electronic media is the easy way to go – scans are best 
6. Knowing the adjusters that work on your files beyond just a name.  
7. Letting the Adjuster know that you follow the Six Keys in #2 above. <<Adjuster communication to and from the insureds fixes so many of the Workers Comp problems.   J&L often fixes problems by just communicating (talking shop) with the adjuster(s).   
8. Relating to #1 – Understanding your Unit Statistical Date to not waste time at end of theyear. 
9. Not renewing policies on January 1st or July 1st. 
10. Reading the newsletter that J&L provides almost every week.   You may sign up at the top right of this page. 
11. Bonus – having a working relationship with your agent, not just at renewal.
12. Another Bonus – take any class or attend any meeting or seminar that your insurance carrier offers to you.<<Most of these carrier seminars are free if you are a policyholder with the carrier.   
13. Last Bonus – Safety is the key to staying out of the Work Comp system. <<<The mother of all way to save on Workers Compensation premiums.  Keeping an accident from happening cannot be written anywhere on a balance sheet or P&L statement.   However, an Experience Modification factor of less than 1.0 DOES APPEAR on a P&L statement under Insurance Premiums Paid for 2019. 

I am only going to add one to the list for the 2019 Workers Comp Resolutions compared to 2018.    

1. If you have any questions, use the search capabilities on this blog.   Almost any workers comp term has been covered in the 1,800 articles on this blog.  If you cannot find an answer, email me at [email protected]   No sales pitches. 
2. Be careful of Googling your answer from anonymous/unknown sources as you may not end up with the correct answer. 

Reaffirming your 2018 resolutions will be the best way to begin your 2019 Workers Comp resolutions.