Top 10 Workers Comp Concepts – NCCI AIS 2022
Last week, I covered the NCCI Annual Issues Symposium – more of a comprehensive view. Cristine Pike was kind enough to invite me to the conference. I decided to cover the Top 10 Workers Comp Concepts that I learned from press row. These are not in any ranked order. The two longer articles that I wrote on the NCCI AIS can be found here and also at this link.
- NCCI knows how to put on a conference. Bob Wilson – Workerscompensation.com advised me when I sat down next to him that “these people do it the right way.” He was right. I was impressed with all the presenters. The sound system and visuals were awesome.
- Two of the NCCI presenters never even looked down at the storyboard monitors in front of them. One could tell that they practiced their presentations to the nth degree – impressive. I have never been able to do that for a whole presentation.
- Dr. Bob Hartwig can fly through slides like crab claws disappear on a seafood buffet. I have attended (either online or in-person) eight of his presentations over the last three years. He was the first person to say “Hey, the pandemic effect was bad, but it only lasted 45 days.” You should pick up copies of his slides at the Darla Moore School of Business – University of South Carolina.
- Orlando is a great place to have a conference. Over the last 20 years, I rank it #1 in the world for me. Yes, I have attended conferences overseas. The JW Marriott has a vibe to it. Attendees such as Andrew Kenneally from WCRI brought their families along and everyone had a smile on their face the whole time. The Orlando airport was designed to efficiently move large numbers of travelers. The airport did not make travelers walk hundreds of yards to find the Uber or Lyft areas.
- The Fed VP – Roger Ferguson- had such a great sense of humor. Alan Greenspan did well when he was appointed to be part of the Fed. He was approachable and a great representative for the Fed. His conversation with me a the dinner was interesting and jovial.
- We will not know the full impact of the pandemic until July 1, 2023, or later. This has to do with the timing of the UNITSTAT date. I am assuming that January 1, 2022, was the end of the pandemic. If you thought that it was earlier or later, just add 18 months to your date of choice. Some of the presenters talked briefly about the 18-month delay in the numbers.
- The pandemic caused NCCI to change the numbers on what events are catastrophes. COVID-19 had its own workers’ comp catastrophe code with NCCI and the WCIRB – CA Rating Bureau.
- Most surprising Top 10 Workers Comp Concept – the Combined Ratio shows that the pandemic did not affect the profitability of Workers Comp. The Combined Ratio was forecasted to improve even more to .85. in 2023. I remember a time when this statistic was at 1.15. This meant that at one time, carriers were taking 15% hits when writing coverage for employers (ouch!).
- AI – algorithms work well. The problem is human interaction with the algorithms. From my IT days long ago, I would have to agree with this statement. AI is the new electricity was an eye-opening concept. Excessive automation that almost killed GM made sense.
- Costs of surgery were 11% lower at ASCs – ambulatory surgical centers. The utilization of surgical centers was flat over the last few years.
I have many more concepts that I wrote in my trusty notebook (pen and paper). Let me know if you want to hear any more beyond the Top 10 Workers Comp concepts that I listed in this article.
Also Read: 2023 NCCI AIS Conference – Orlando Next Week – See You There!
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