Have Work Comp Claim Analytics Arrived?
A Work Comp Claim Analytics package is something that I have been in search of for many years. Can software actually replace the thinking process of an experienced adjuster?
Last year at the 2015 WCRI Conference I met a few analysts for one of the big insurance carriers. They had informed me the carrier was working on a database for “internal” work comp claim analytics. The package was not going to be sold to the public.
Last week, I noticed an article from a major third party administrator that is selling a claims analytics package. A few weeks ago I wrote about not being able to find any accurate analytics or predictive model packages.
Some of the comments on the article suggested that there are great analytics on the front end (policies, loss portfolio, underwriting) . That may be true but I have yet to see any worthy claim analytics package.
However, if a TPA or insurance carrier had enough data, one would have to think they would be able to at least see if an injured employee fit some type of profile such as drug dependent personality or if a person from a certain zip code would take longer to heal than the expected norms.
I have demoed so much software at the National Workers Comp Conferences without really finding an analytics program for claims. One reason is the limited amount of data that the vendors would have had – except for the large TPA’s and carriers.
I will eventually have to let go of the old school way of thinking that an experienced adjuster is the best way to analyze a workers comp file and its associated reserves. Once I see a package that works, I will keep quiet about work comp claim analytics. Until then, I will keep commenting and searching.
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