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Stay at Work Washington L&I ‘s Unique Program – Guest Post

June 21, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants Leave a Comment

Stay at Work -How WA State Companies Can Be Reimbursed 50% of an Injured Worker’s Wages While on Light Duty

Stay at Work sounds like a great unique program for employers and injured employees.

Two months ago, Mr. Kohler (see below) contacted me. He wanted to see if I would be interested in posting a guest post on the unique state of Washington’s Workers Compensation system.

graphic of worker lifting improperly stay at work

Public License – Wellcome Foundation, UK

I admit that I do not allow very many guests posts. Washington’s L&I (think monopolistic) is unto itself on many aspects of Workers Compensation. Mr. Kohler made me an offer that I could not refuse. Below is the article he wrote verbatim.

___________________

The Washington State Department Labor and Industries (L&I) has a unique program called “Stay at Work” that is designed to help employees stay on the job after an injury claim has been filed. The program is geared to meeting both the needs of injured employees and employers that are worried about managing all of the costs associated with an employee injury claim.

What is “Stay at Work”?

“Stay at Work” is a financial incentive program that reimburses employers for some of the costs of transitioning an injured worker to temporary, light-duty jobs while they recover from their injuries. Eligible employers are able to get reimbursed from L&I for eligible expenses.

The program was created to deal with the issues faced by both employers and employees when an injured employee is kept off the job of injury for months at a time.

The employee, even with worker’s compensation, payments can see as much as a 30% to 40% reduction in their take-home pay. Also, the longer an employee is out of work, the more difficult their recovery becomes and the harder it is to get back to work.

“Stay at Work” encourages employers to find temporary light-duty jobs for injured employees so that they can continue to participate in the workplace. This improves their health outcomes and allows them to avoid a reduction in their take-home pay.

How Does “Stay at Work” Help Employers?

The “Stay at Work” program also significantly helps employers. Instead of dealing with all of the costs associated with an injury claim, the employer is able to be reimbursed:

50% of injured worker’s base wages for light-duty or transitional work
Expense reimbursement for training, tools, and clothing

This program not only reduces the costs the employer faces in dealing with an injury claim, it allows the employer to still take advantage of the skills and knowledge of the injured employee while they heal. It also makes it more likely that the employee will be able to return to full duty.

Key Eligibility Requirements

Some of the key eligibility requirements for the “Stay at Work” program include:

Pay workers compensation premiums to L&I
By the employer at the time of the injury on the claim, or have your experience rating affected by the claim
Have written approval for light-duty or transitional work from the employee’s health care provider
Apply for reimbursement of eligible expenses within one year of incurring the expenses

The “Stay at Work” program gives employers the chance to get some help with the often-excessive costs of managing an employee injury claim. The program is good for employers and employees.

Spencer Kohler – ARM, V.P. Marketing, Risk Finance/Washington Manufacturers Council provided this Stay at Work article.

Filed Under: Stay at Work Program Tagged With: light duty, monopolistic, Washington L&I

Workers Compensation Fee Schedules Win Again – WCRI’s Free Study

June 19, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants Leave a Comment

Workers Compensation Fee Schedules = Less Costly Claims and Premiums

Virtually all Workers Compensation Fee Schedules cut comp costs across the board. Check out this search for fee schedules articles on this website. WCRI just published a massive study on workers compensation fee schedules. The study covers 87% of the workers comp benefits paid in the US.

pic of student studying workers compensation fee schedules

Public Use License Wikimedia Gnarlycraig

WCRI Says Freebies On This One

Dr. Rebecca Yang and Dr. Olesya Fomenko’s extremely comprehensive study covers 35 states. These two researchers are data geniuses along with all the staff at WCRI.

For many years (over 11) I have written numerous articles on fee schedules. Why?- because they are governmental interventions that usually totally works to reduce the cost to employers, carriers, and all other parties. Next week, I will cover the hidden side of fee schedules that are just as important.

Virginia just enacted a fee schedule. For some reason, I thought Virginia would never have a fee schedule. Some tweaks will likely be needed for their fee schedule.

From the WCRI press release and website:

The study, WCRI Medical Price Index for Workers’ Compensation, 10th Edition (MPI-WC), compares medical prices paid in 35 states and tracks price changes in most states over a 10-year span from 2008 to 2017 for professional services billed by physicians, physical therapists, and chiropractors. The medical services fall into eight groups: evaluation and management, physical medicine, surgery, major radiology, minor radiology, neurological testing, pain management injections, and emergency care.

One interesting development pointed out by WCRI is the following states had major fee schedule changes:

Arizona
California
Colorado
Illinois
Kentucky
Massachusetts
North Carolina
Texas.

The rating bureaus such as NCCI (most of nation) and WCIRB (California) both provided numerous articles on fee schedules reducing costs.

The following is a sample of the WCRI study’s findings: (directly from their website)

Prices paid for a similar set of professional services varied significantly across states, ranging from 26 percent below the 35-state median in Florida to 158 percent above the 35-state median in Wisconsin in 2017.
States with no fee schedules for professional services had higher prices paid compared with states with fee schedules—39 to 168 percent higher than the median of the study states with fee schedules in 2017.
Changes in prices paid for professional services exhibited variation across states, spanning between a 17 percent decrease in Illinois and a 39 percent increase in Wisconsin over the time period from 2008 to 2017.
Most states with no fee schedules experienced faster growth in prices paid for professional services compared with states with fee schedules—the median growth rate among the non-fee schedule states was 30 percent from 2008 to 2017, compared with the median growth rate of 6 percent among the fee schedule states.

I think we can draw a direct conclusion from the studies by NCCI, WCIRB, and especially WCRI. States can only help themselves by enacting and properly adjusting their workers compensation fee schedules.

Filed Under: fee schedule Tagged With: Arizona, California, colorado, Fomenko, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, NCCI, North Carolina, Rebecca Yang, Texas, WCIRB, WCRI

$250,000 Claim Reserve Level – Why Is that Number So Important?

June 15, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants Leave a Comment

$250,000 Claim Reserve Level Creates Many Critical Responsibilities

The $250,000 claim reserve level causes many necessary actions. Some of them are obvious. The other not-so-obvious actions are just as important.

Picture of Turkish Money $250,000 claim reserve level

Public Use License with permission

Please note that the Reinsurer and Excess Insurer are the same for this article.

Usually, a claim that reaches this level involves Vice President or Examiner approval to input the reserve into the system. The checklist action plan can be enormous at this level to the claims adjuster.

Some of those tasks are:

Reinsurance reporting – This area can slip by if one is not careful. The $250,000 claim reserve level will likely cause some type of flag to the reinsurer. It never looks good if the reinsurer has to ask the claims staff for the report. The reinsurer should have some prescribed report they wish to receive at the $250,000 and higher claim reserve levels. Each reinsurer may require a totally different type of report.

Employer reporting – Completion of this task needs to occur before they reserves are entered into the system. Apprising an employer of this reserve level will save many headaches in the future. Many times we receive loss runs where a large reserve exists on the file with no explanation.

Assigning to Field Case Manager or Rehabilitation Nurse – When a file hits the reserve level, better late than never to assign out a rehabilitation nurse Is there any reason to not assign it out to one? Medical control is mission critical along with a strong return to work plan. The rehab nurses are one of my favorite risk management techniques.

Subrogation Liens Must Be Covered – An interesting fact from a report by Mark Walls of Safety National is 24% of all huge claims in their inventory result from automobile accidents. Obtaining a police report is an easy task. Do not be the adjuster that forgets to cover their subrogation. We see no effort to pursue subrogation in files quite often. Writing a subrogation lien letter takes such a short amount of time.

Employer Involvement – Claims that reach this level must be followed closely by the employer. Did you send the employee to your carrier or TPA’s recommended industrial-minded physician? Do you have a modified duty job available? Are you in contact with the injured employee and keeping up with their medical treatment? What restrictions does the injured employee have at this point? An active employer usually reduces the cost of the claim while providing their injured employee with the best care.

These are a few things to cover when a claim is initially set or increases to a $250,000 claims reserve level.

Filed Under: Reserves Tagged With: excess insurance, rehabilitation nurses, reinsurers, subrogation

WCIRB Pure Premium Rates Are Not Insurance Carrier Rates

June 12, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants Leave a Comment

WCIRB Pure Premium Rates Not The Same As Workers Comp Insurance Rates (Usually)

The WCIRB pure premium rates generated a few calls over the last two weeks. Insurance companies file their own loss cost multipliers or LCM’s that deviate from those rates.

question mark wcirb pure premium rates in circle

Wikimedia Public Use License

The WCIRB (Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau) is the rate bureau for specifically California.

The insurance carriers can increase or decrease their rates from the WCIRB pure premium rates. The WCIRB pure premium rates are also referred to as advisory rates.

A definition of advisory pure premium rates by the WCIRB: (See this online PDF File for a Rate Filing Example. )

Pure premium rates, which reflect loss costs including loss adjustment expenses per unit of exposure, are only advisory and insurers are not required to use either the proposed or the approved pure premium rates in establishing the rates it will charge.

The WCIRB pure premium rates have to be approved by the Insurance Commissioner at a rate hearing. The Commissioner has rejected any pure premium rate increases in the past.

The one great development is that companies are researching their policy information. Reading your policy is the first step in reducing your Workers Compensation premiums.

Please note that I am only referring to the rates. I am not referring to the Classification Codes. If your company has what you feel are inaccurate classification codes, those may be disputed. And where do you find the procedure? Yes, that is right – in your Workers Compensation policy.

The Insurance Commissioners in all states require that it be in every policy. No, really – it exists inside your policy.

The pure premium rates are reviewed for changes constantly by the WCIRB’s Actuarial and other committees. The WCIRB publishes any rate change recommendations on their website in various reports. The reports are usually produced on a semi-annual basis.

You may want to surf their website for more subjects beyond the WCIRB pure premium rates.

Filed Under: pure premium rate Tagged With: Class Codes, classification codes, LCM, WCIRB

30 Minute Webinars – The Trend Of The Rushed Presenter

June 7, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants Leave a Comment

New 30 Minute Webinars Trend – Presenters Rushing Through Information and Slides

Most 30 minute webinars sound like a great idea on the screen or paper. In practice, they seem to be an exercise in rushing.

I have listened to three webinars over the last two weeks that were of the new 30 minute webinar trend. Two of them sounded like a sprint that left the presenter(s) breathless.

Wikimedia License – The Photographer

One recent 30 minute webinars example presented by the WCIRB (California’s Rating Bureau) was good but left little time for questions. I am writing an article on the WCIRB webinar tomorrow. One large distinction with the WCIRB is that they have always been excellent in answering any questions that I had over the years.

The difference between the rushed webinars and ones that should fit into a smaller time slot originates from the presenter’s preparedness. I am not saying that any of the webinar presenters come unprepared for their slides.

Oh no, I think the difference is that their old webinar covered one hour. The presenters decided – hey, I will just cover the same slides more quickly. That situation occurred twice this week.

Ironically, one webinar was sponsored by a webinar presentation assistant/consultant company. The presenter covered 1/4 of what was on the slides. The results were not disastrous, but somewhat comical.

We are all time-pressed, or at least think we are under clock-based pressures.

I discussed the 30 minute time slot idea with one person that performs many webinar-based presentations. They said the drop rate at 30 minutes totals to a huge number when examining the participation numbers.

Could it be the quality of the presentations or the webinar did not apply to the listener, so they just gave it 30 minutes and then signed off? Of course, the attention span of the average listener is twenty minutes. The 20 minute figure was tallied long before the smartphone effect.

The old(?) format was 45 – 50 minutes and then 10 minutes for questions. From what I have experienced, the listeners that stay beyond 30 minutes are actually very interested in the topic. When I present a webinar, the participants that hang in there for the whole presentation are often the ones that follow up with me by email within the next 10 days.

Are all webinars going to the 30 minute format? Will this spill over into mini-in-person-conferences? Can a presenter or presenters compress their ideas that compactly? What is your opinion on 30 minute webinars?

Filed Under: Webinar Tagged With: WCIRB

Cutcompcosts Awarded Top 25 Workers Comp Blogs Again for 2018

June 5, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Cutcompcosts Repeats As Top 25 Workers Comp Blog In 2018

After Cutcompcosts repeated as Best’s Recommended Insurance Advisors, we just discovered that Workerscompensation.com awarded us with the Top 25 Workers Comp Blogs designation. We also were awarded the distinction in 2017.

Wikimedia Public License – Thomas Quine

In fact, we just received the 10 Year Badge for Recommended Insurance Advisors or Experts by Best’s Insurance Ratings. By the way, we are not bragging whatsoever. We just wanted to let our new and devout blog, article, and newsletter readers know that they are not reading or receiving spammy disguised advertising information.

We do need to add our 2018 Best’s Recommend Insurance Experts Badges very soon.

Please note that you see no ads in any of the articles, archives, or newsletters. Also, no annoying pop-ups were ever allowed. Many Google or SERP experts wanted us to monetize the blog <yuck>. I told them – no way – in no uncertain terms.

We have been offered thousands to list adverts on our blog and website. To that I said – that does not follow the vision statement for the website at all – so thanks, but no thanks.

I used to write articles for Google rankings, but no longer do I even attempt to do that. Google has somehow figured out when you just write and not worry about how the article will rank – will be more beneficial than writing an article to get it placed on the first page of the Google organic rankings.

A few of our posts have gone viral over the last few weeks. Some of the viral posts were from 10 years ago. I use the term viral very loosely. A very specific blog expects only so much traffic. J&L is still trying to match the 100,000 daily views from 2013. That figure was not an anomaly.

I have written 99.9% of the articles that you see before you. Original content is better than paying someone to write it and then use my name on it. A few competitors pay for articles. We do not. We will not.

One question I receive often is where do I get the ideas for writing articles or for presentations/webinars? Actually, a good article exists already on the blank page. I am just filling in the required words. Many come from the comments I hear at conferences, meetings, talking with business allies, and so forth.

The only two artificial improvements I have made to the blog is to hire a cleanup person for the last two years to link articles, clean up the spacing, add pictures, fix the copyright info, etc. The other is the frustrating, but good Grammarly. I now run it on every article before publishing them. The $135 per year was worth it (I think). Yes, I broke down and bought the Pro Version.

If you think of any subjects – Workers Compensation centered – that need to be written on, please email me or use the Contact page on the website.

In closing, we do not sell any of our data to any company at any time. Yes, we do use Google tracking, but that only for knowing the number of hits we receive and what the person was searching for in the website. We have chosen not to track individual site visits. That sounds creepy and it is creepy.

Once again, a BIG THANKS for reading the articles and newsletter over the last 11 years. Hopefully, for the next 11 years, there will be a Cutcompcosts to receive good technical Workers ‘ Compensation information.

©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice

Filed Under: Cutcompcosts Tagged With: AM Best, google, Grammarly

Workers Compensation Telemedicine Webinar – June 12th

June 4, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Out Front Ideas With Kimberly and Mark – Workers Compensation Telemedicine – One To Check Out For Sure

Real Workers Compensation telemedicine has now arrived compared to even just three years ago. Some websites featured telemedicine as a new avenue for treating remote non-serious injuries.

Painting of Doctor without Workers Compensation Telemedicine seeing patient

Public Use License – Wikimedia Commons

I was extremely skeptical of this platform initially. I then came across a few telemedicine booths at the 2016 NWCDC Conference in Las Vegas. However, the providers seemed just to be getting a foothold into what seemed to be an enormous marketing segment.

Out Front Ideas will host a workers compensation telemedicine webinar on June 12th at 11 am Central Time. It is Freebies, as is all of their webinars.

The three questions that I always hear from adjusters/risk managers on telemedicine are:

Can serious injury follow up work on a telemedicine platform?
Will this make malingerers stay off from work longer than an in-person appointment?
What is the cost?

Tune in June 12th to have those and other questions answered with two of my favorite Workers Compensation people. From their website:

The deployment of telemedicine solutions is growing in the employer benefit space, offering more opportunities for employees to engage in their health than ever before.

Join us for a complimentary Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark webinar where a panel of experts will explore how employers are using telemedicine to manage chronic diseases, enhance wellbeing, improve health literacy and provide virtual care.

You will learn:

How telemedicine has become an important component to delivering a well-rounded health and productivity solution.
Several examples of successful employer applications within the workplace.
How to approach implementation of telemedicine into your existing program.
Potential costs and savings associated with use.
The future outlook for telemedicine.

Speakers include:

Ann Schnure, Vice President, Telemedicine, Concentra
Susan Emerson, General Manager, Delta Airlines

You get to hear from a major airline on handling worker comp claims by telemedicine.

As a side note, you can see their older webinar recordings here – it is worth a look.

Filed Under: telemedicine Tagged With: out front ideas, webinar

WCRI Webinar – Effects of Opioids on Return To Work – June 21st

May 31, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants

June 21st – WCRI Webinar on Opioids vs. Length of Temporary Total Disability

An upcoming WCRI Webinar on how opioids affect the TTD period looks to be one that is worth your time and a small stipend. WCRI is the acronym for Workers Compensation Research Institute out of Boston MA.

chart of wcri webinar opioids cocaine effect

This webinar is one that I will be listening in of for sure. The long overused term opioids usually makes me want to not pay attention to the article or presentation. I have now read articles and attended so many webinars on opioids over the past five years. It is a term that has become tiring.

Exception – This webinar Why? – Because of the breadth and depth of the study.

Dr. Bogdan Savych will host the 1/2 hour webinar on June 21st at 1 PM Eastern Time. Dr. Savych led the study on post-accident opinions of employees on their Workers Compensation claims<<ground-breaking study>>. I compliment him on that study every time at their Annual Conference.

Adjusters and claims staffs should get a copy of that study. The numbers and opinions can likely help you with your injured workers.

The TTD vs. Opioid seminar will cover the questions:

Do opioid prescriptions increase duration of temporary disability benefits?
Do longer-term opioid prescriptions increase duration of temporary disability benefits?
What role do local prescribing patterns play in determining whether injured workers received opioid prescriptions?

The webinar is based on the study of the same name:

The Impact of Opioid Prescriptions on Duration of Temporary Disability.

The states covered <why I recommend the study and webinar> are:

The 28 states included in the study, which represent over 80 percent of benefits paid, are

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The above 28 states represent 80% of benefits paid – good to see California in the study.

I am going to check this one out. I just registered here. Click here

There is a nominal charge for each the webinar and the study. WCRI’s slides are second to none. You will receive a copy after the webinar.

Filed Under: WCRI. Opioids Tagged With: California, Dr. Brogdan Savych, New York, North Carolina, Temporary Total, Texas, TTD

Workers Compensation Class Code 9015 – Most Reclassified in 2017 – NCCI

May 30, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants

NCCI Names Most Reclassified Workers Compensation Class Code 9015

graphic Workers Compensation Class Code 9015 wheel of fortune

License Public Domain

The Workers Compensation Class Code 9015 has long been a source of confusion for agents, underwriters, and premium auditors. NCCI (National Council on Compensation Insurance) reaffirmed the confusion by naming the Code as their most reclassified code.

In the past, NCCI had published their Top 10 Reclassified Codes each year. I assume we will just have the Top 1 only now and in the future.

How could Workers Compensation Class Code 9015 draw so much likely unwanted attention? Let us look a little closer.

I was catching up on my Worker Comp reading yesterday when I came across this article by NCCI on the most reclassified code Workers Compensation Class Code 9015 Building or Property Management—All Other Employees.

The reclassifications are due to in-person physical inspections by NCCI. The changes are not the result of an agent, insurance carrier, or premium auditor changing the codes.

According to NCCI, the 9015 classification terminology out of the Basic Manual, not the Scopes Manual, is:

Applies to the care, custody, and maintenance of premises or facilities. Not applicable to an owner or lessee of a building who occupies the entire or principal portion of the premises for manufacturing or mercantile purposes. Includes doormen, security desk personnel, elevator operators, gatekeepers, and concierges. Separately rate maintenance or repair work at any location where the owner or lessee does not also perform janitorial services. Includes real estate management companies and real estate investment trusts.
License Public Domain-by. Corrina Duron

Clerical and sales employees are assigned to Code 9012—Building or Property Management—Property Managers and Leasing Agents & Clerical, Salespersons, including those who operate at a separate location from the properties managed.
Employees working exclusively for a country club operation run by a hotel, resort, condominium, or other community association are assigned to Code 9060—Club—Country, Golf, Fishing or Yacht—All Employees & Clerical, Salespersons, Drivers.

The third bullet point creates the most questions out of any classification codes mentioned in the article. We are contacted rather often by employers that are confused when they are reclassified into 9060.

The 9060 Code was not mentioned in the NCCI articles as the Class Codes where 9015 employers find themselves post-inspection. The three codes where the 9060 Code employers are reclassified into consist of:

Code 9012—Building or Property Management—Property Managers and Leasing Agents & Clerical, Salespersons, including those who operate at a separate location from the properties managed. For this one, I highly recommend you read the original NCCI article. You can download the PDF if you follow the link in red above.

Code 8855 – Banks and Trust Companies – all employees including salespersons, clerical and drivers

Code 8723- Insurance Companies – salespersons and clerical

Filed Under: classification code, Classification Codes by Analogy Tagged With: inspection, NCCI, work comp class code

Workers Compensation Reserve Increases – Top 10 Reasons For Massive Ones

May 24, 2018 By JL Risk Management Consultants

Workers Compensation Reserve Increases – 10 Ways To Cause Huge Reserves

Most Workers Compensation reserve increases can be controlled by employers. Let us see how employers cause huge ones below. Some of these come from the Six Keys To Saving On Workers Comp insurance that I wrote in the 1980’s.

The list also applies to large deductibles, captives, self insureds and so forth.

Law of Large Numbers Workers Compensation Reserve Increases Graph

Public Use License – Dean P Foster

Top 10 Ways To Cause Jumbo Workers Compensation Reserve Increases

Filing the 1st Report of Injury late – you have introduced your company to the adjuster as a high-risk company. Large lag times make employers look irresponsible. A high-risk company receives high-risk reserves. This is an easy one to correct. Many carriers have online reporting to cut the mailing times to a minimum.
Not having an industrial-minded medical network in place – this one is even worse than late 1st reports. Your workers comp adjuster has to deal with the medical providers very often during a claim. If the medical providers seem high risk, the adjuster sees your company as high-risk. This one takes some effort to establish. Even in states where the employee has full choice of providers, they will likely go to the physician that your company recommends 80% of the time.
A shoddy or no return to work program – this one can turn a regular claim into a permanent total claim very quickly. Many industrial commissions and all adjuster take notice when an injured employee cannot be returned to modified duty. The days of firing the injured employee (in most cases) are long gone. Once again, your organization sticks out as a high-risk employer. The adjuster may set or add in reserves that equate to a high-risk employer.
Employee treated like they are no longer part of the company – this is one area that will almost always result in attorney representation. If the employee feels like everyone is against them, they will find someone that will be glad to represent their interests for a price. This one is very easy to fix. An employer’s internal controls should facilitate how the employee is treated by the company. Remember, as in #2 above, the adjuster has to deal with your choices on the claim. The wrong choices can result in large reserve increases initially.
Not taking #1 – #4 seriously – an employer may write a large manual on controlling Workers Compensation. I have dusted those off many times when consulting with employers. The manual was great but unused in those situations. #1 – #4 above is multiplicative or additive when an adjuster starts to establish the reserves. In fact, many reserve worksheets have checklists for #1 – #4 right on the reserving sheets.
Twilight Zone (c) Phone Calls – this one goes hand-in-hand with #1 above. If the first introduction to a workers compensation claim is a call from an unknown medical provider on an unknown claim, the employer just put the red flag on the file as a high-high risk employer. Check out the link for a better description of those types of those phone calls.
Not Knowing Your Adjuster’s Names – If you do not know who is working on your claims, then that should be an internal red flag that your company is not working with your claims adjusters. Establishing a working relationship (by email) reduces your company’s perceived risk factor with the adjusters. Quite a few employers have us track their claims for them. The first thing I do is send the adjuster a nice – hey let’s work together email.
Not Knowing Your E-Mod, LDF, or Total Claim Payments – this comes from my 5-minute company safety analysis article. All senior management, business owners, safety officers, risk managers, or company claims administrators should know this number cold without having to look it up. If you do not know the number, how can you tell how your company is doing with #1-#7 above? This is similar to your location finder on your smartphone. The maps function will not work if you do not know where you are presently.
Not Having Your Loss Run At Your Fingertips – this one is the same as #8, but on a larger scale. If you do not know your losses, you just shut off the location finder on your smartphone. Online claims access should be viewed as beyond critical, especially near your Unit Statistical Date. How can you talk with your adjuster when you have outdated data? Emailing (not calling) your claims adjusters with old data does not look good.
Like it or not appearances and first impressions count – For instance, I am sitting here now with a large claim on my desk that I have been asked to assess the proper reserves. What do you think I noticed in the file review – yes, these things work the same for workers compensation reserve increases as for an after-the-fact-analyses.

Many more reasons do exist to have a large workers compensation reserve increase or have the initial reserves set very high. Feel free to add more in the comments section.

Filed Under: Workers Comp Reserving Tagged With: FROI, Return to work, Six keys, twilight zone phone calls