CMS Now Runs FIO
The CMS runs FIO – should this be death of Workers Comp? OK, so the title is meant to catch your attention. The second part is actually a reality as of last week. The federalization of Workers Comp remains an issue.
Yes, the CMS – the government organization that will be warehousing all the Workers Comp data in 2011 now is over the office that can make rules that affect Workers Comp overnight. I warned about this development early in 2010 in this article and this article.
The Federalization of Workers Comp is yet becoming more of a reality. Will the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) use the Workers Compensation data they will be warehousing to make Federal rules on how Workers Comp functions along with other lines of insurance?
What does this mean for any one that is involved with Workers Compensation? I think the rules are changing slowly but surely. The changes will then accelerate over time. There was a great article recently written on Workers Comp becoming irrelevant. Check it out here.
In this context, one would have to think being extremely flexible is the key to remaining successful where there are changes to the Workers Compensation landscape. Areas such as general liability, subrogation, and other lines of insurance would be great to explore for expanding beyond Workers Comp.
The AIC, ARM, CPCU and other professional designations all provide great education into areas beyond Workers Comp. One area that is so misunderstood is subrogation. In our file and reserve reviews we often see Workers Compensation adjusters struggling with pursuing benefits from liable third parties. The claim adjusters, underwriters, and other insurance personnel were just not trained in this area.
Subrogation is not something you can teach in an in-house three hour conference. Pursuing funds from third parties requires a new diary system to track the recoveries of funds. I have seen very few Workers Comp insurance systems that aided in this area.
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