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Five Things You Must Do If You Have Workers Comp Career

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Five Ways To Survive Your Workers Comp Career

Your Workers Comp career changes every year.  Interestingly enough, last week when I included the Five Ways To Prepare For The Death Of Workers Comp in the newsletter, more attention was paid than when I originally wrote the article in 2010.  One cannot ignore the intrusion of the Federal Government into Workers Comp – Medicare Set Asides.

Picture of Business man Workers Comp Career Hand
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Many settlements now have to be approved by CMS.  Would you have thought that would occur even 10 years ago?   The answer is a definite no.  There have been many changes even in the last two years in the Workers Comp landscape from prepackaged medications given out by physicians to the beginning of the full adoption of Obamacare.

What would you do if tomorrow you no longer had your position?  These will apply whether you are in the sales, safety, actuarial, risk management, or claim areas.  Vendors should also heed this advice. The five areas to think over for your Workers Comp career are:

  1. You cannot just sit behind your desk any longer and think you have a safe job until retirement.  Property Casualty reductions in staff numbers are astounding.  Seniority really means little in the Workers Comp marketplace.
  2. Picture Of Lady Five Things Working On Table
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    You must network, network, and network more.  If you are not vising LinkedIn every day and have a less than 100% completed profile, you are cheating yourself.  There are many groups that you can join to not only read, but participate in the conversation.

  3. Cross-training is now a great idea.  There are many newer acronyms for cross-training.  If you are a one trick pony in the circus, what happens when they decide to remove your act?  There are many aspects to Workers Comp that you may be asked to explore IF you have the qualifications.
  4. Attend conferences even if it is on your own time and dime.  Employers are rightfully cutting back on sending employees to conferences.   There are many low-cost or free ones in your area.  This goes hand-in-hand with #2 in this list.  I have recommended to unemployed workers that they go to conferences and drop off resumes with people working at the booths.  This is better than sending a resume to some anonymous email.  Some conferences have discouraged resume-dropping.  Check to make sure it is OK with the sponsors.
  5. Woman Employee Five Things Speaking Up In Meeting
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    Educate yourself to the nth degree and not just in your specific area.  An AIC (Associate in Claims) is great.  Now, can you add on an ARM or even the more intensive CPCU?  The same can be said for an agent with a CIC.  For your resume or personnel file to be pulled out of the massive stacks, you need to beat out the competition.  You also can add your designations after you name.  Check out LinkedIn closely for the “letters after your name effect.”   They are noticeable by all that read info on you.

  6. Bonus – Be flexible as you may be asked to take over part of the duties of a job that may not be filled again due to the recession.  This is now very true in governmental positions.   

There are many other suggestions.  I invented this list after seeing many unsolicited resumes from former WC and Property Casualty employees.

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James J Moore - Workers Comp Expert

Raleigh, NC, United States

About The Author...

James founded a Workers’ Compensation consulting firm, J&L Risk Management Consultants, Inc. in 1996. J&L’s mission is to reduce our clients’ Workers Compensation premiums by using time-tested techniques. J&L’s claims, premium, reserve and Experience Mod reviews have saved employers over $9.8 million in earned premiums over the last three years. J&L has saved numerous companies from bankruptcy proceedings as a result of insurance overpayments.

James has over 27 years of experience in insurance claims, audit, and underwriting, specializing in Workers’ Compensation. He has supervised, and managed the administration of Workers’ Compensation claims, and underwriting in over 45 states. His professional experience includes being the Director of Risk Management for the North Carolina School Boards Association. He created a very successful Workers’ Compensation Injury Rehabilitation Unit for school personnel.

James’s educational background, which centered on computer technology, culminated in earning a Masters of Business Administration (MBA); an Associate in Claims designation (AIC); and an Associate in Risk Management designation (ARM). He is a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and a licensed financial advisor. The NC Department of Insurance has certified him as an insurance instructor. He also possesses a Bachelors’ Degree in Actuarial Science.

LexisNexis has twice recognized his blog as one of the Top 25 Blogs on Workers’ Compensation. J&L has been listed in AM Best’s Preferred Providers Directory for Insurance Experts – Workers Compensation for over eight years. He recently won the prestigious Baucom Shine Lifetime Achievement Award for his volunteer contributions to the area of risk management and safety. James was recently named as an instructor for the prestigious Insurance Academy.

James is on the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the North Carolina Mid-State Safety Council. He has published two manuals on Workers’ Compensation and three different claims processing manuals. He has also written and has been quoted in numerous articles on reducing Workers’ Compensation costs for public and private employers. James publishes a weekly newsletter with 7,000 readers.

He currently possess press credentials and am invited to various national Workers Compensation conferences as a reporter.

James’s articles or interviews on Workers’ Compensation have appeared in the following publications or websites:

  • Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS)
  • Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Bloomberg Business News
  • WorkCompCentral.com
  • Claims Magazine
  • Risk & Insurance Magazine
  • Insurance Journal
  • Workers Compensation.com
  • LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites
  • Various trade publications

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