Workers Comp Data – From The Inside Out
Most Workers Comp Data analysis reeks of being too standard in nature. Workers Comp and general insurance data mining was one of the presentations at the SC PRIMA conference this week. The presentation was great. The two Willis Companies presenters covered such areas as:
- GIGO – Garbage In = Garbage Out
- Combining data sets
- Analyze results
- Benchmarking against other available data
The main premise was to take all the Workers Comp data from the outside including competitors if possible and look inward. Overall, this is a great way to analyze Workers Comp. This method does require a large amount of data trimming and time to accomplish. The process does work in most instances.
There may be another way to examine the data – from the inside out – which is different from the aforementioned method. Most employers have an Experience Modification Factor (Mod). Self insured employers should have a Loss Development Factor (LDF) calculated each year. The LDF is similar to a Mod.
The LDF or Mod is based upon claims data that has hopefully been input correctly by the Workers Comp claims staff. The most crucial part of the data is the Total Incurred = Paid + Reserves.
Using the claims data from a loss run along with the NCCI or State Rating Bureau Mod, the data can be distilled into the claims that affect the Mod the most. The same can be said for the LDF. The claims data is on the right side of the Mod sheet.
LDF calculations are usually more complex to follow. You may want to ask the company or person that provided your LDF what were the data inputs and possibly receive them on some type of spreadsheet.
Following those claims back to the loss run from either the LDF or Mod, one can easily see how they are calculated for the most part. The claims on the loss run that are on the Mod or LDF sheet are the ones which deserve the most attention. The questions to ask about those claims are:
- What caused the accident?
- Was there an element of safety that was not in place?
- What body parts were injured? – inquire if this is noted as miscellaneous
- What happened such as slip, trip or fall, hit by machinery, etc?
- What type of medical treatment did the injured employee receive?
These are a few of the questions to ask yourself about the data or your loss run and LDF/Mod. This quick method will have your company on the path to a lower Mod or LDF.
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