JL_risklogo.png

Workers Comp Audit Stress Reducer
Use It For Your Next Premium Audit

2020 Workers Comp Resolutions – Make Your List Now And Check It Twice

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

2020 Workers Comp Resolutions – Starting With A Clean Slate

Your 2020 Workers Comp resolutions begin with the obvious – start the list now in late 2019.   I usually build off the previous years’ lists.

blackboard 2020 workers comp resolutions blank
Public Use License -Andrzej 22

Next week, I will publish a list for self-insureds

This year let us start with a clean slate for our 2020 Workers’ Comp resolutions and go from there.

  1. Check the resolutions that I wrote each year for the last 10 years for ideas.   You can type resolutions in the search box.  The resolutions should come up in date order – newest to oldest.
  2. Were there any surprises in your Workers Comp program?  If so, find out why they occurred so they will not become worse in 2020 and beyond.
  3. Read your current Workers Comp policies, including the endorsements.  If you have questions, email your agent.
  4. Read your current Workers Comp loss runs for ALL claims over the last 10 years.   The new analytics packages examine much longer time spans than just what your E-Mod covers.  If you have any questions, email your adjuster.
  5.  Dust off your claims reporting guidelines.  With the smartphone society we live in – speed of information becomes very critical at the beginning of a claim.
  6. Update and clarify your medical treatment network.  Medical providers change over time.  Are you using your carrier’s medical networks for additional savings?  Do you know where to send injured employees with certain injuries?  Does your original treating physician know where to refer your injured employees?
  7. Create a job bank.  Do your treating physicians know what jobs you offer and what light duty positions are in place if an injured employee returns to work.
  8. Review your return to work program.  Accommodating injured employees with light-duty jobs can save an employer thousands on just one claim.  The days of an employer only allowing a full-duty return to work are coming to an end.
  9. Trust of the employer before an accident causes a quicker return to work and better claims outcomes – multiple WCRI studies verified this fact over the last 5 years.
  10. Explore alternative coverages such as PEO’s, self-insurance, captives, etc. if you must have a Mod below 1.0.   Many contractors, including governmental,  require that their subcontractors have an E-Mod of 1.0 or below.   Having an E-Mod of 1.2 when your company needs a 1.0 can wipe out 80% of an employer’s business overnight.  Unfortunately, NCCI and the other rating bureaus have become a de facto credit bureau.  Is it fair?
  11. Analyze your premium audits very closely.  Does it look right?  Many independent contractors are now being added into the audits.  Certificates of insurance are golden in this situation.
  12. Join and become active with an association of similar companies.  For some reason, I have found over the last 25+ years that companies that join and participate in their related associations have lower  Workers’ Comp costs.  I have never pinpointed the exact reason.
  13. If your company expands into other states, those states’ Workers’ Compensation rules and laws may be totally different.  Local defense attorneys usually have summary cheat sheets that cover the state’s WC rules in a few pages.
  14. Monitor any of your subrogation files using a diary system.  Do not leave claims money on the table and walk away.   We see this often in WC files.   Make sure the adjuster writes the initial claim letter against a third party timely.
  15. Get online access.  I can tell you after reviewing claim files since the 1980s, online access to your claims saves time, aggravation, and premium dollars.  A loss run lets you know what has occurred in a claim.  Online access lets you know what is occurring now on your claims.

 

Many resolutions are employer-specific in Workers’ Comp.   Feel free to add your own to the list.   What are your additional 2020 Workers Comp resolutions?

 

©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Related...

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

Subscribe

Get the latest workers' comp news FREE!

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.