Can Insurers Do More to Reduce Injuries?

The Herald Tribune in Sarasota, FL, Nov, 14, 2016 stated a number of actions that employers need to take in the light of new workers' compensation regulations in Florida: “Effective claims advocacy, management and communication, along with robust risk management and work safety programs,” are required to follow regulations and run profitable businesses. Regardless of jurisdiction, implementing regulations is never as simple as it sounds, and they create challenges for both employers and insurers. The primary challenges are typically cost and resources. For Business: Workers' compensation is viewed as a regulatory and financial burden, with claims management being the major focus. Actively managing workers' compensation and the associated risk is good business practice, yet the majority of businesses (particularly small businesses) just can’t afford current risk management tools and methodologies. Internal resources are stretched, and, despite best intentions, it can be a difficult task to wade through a plethora of information to translate, implement and monitor regulatory compliance and risk management. As a result, there is often a reliance on consultants, at significant cost to businesses. See also: Does a Safe Workplace Create Large Profits?   For Insurers: It is not physically possible or economically feasible to conduct risk surveys, analysis and assessments on all of the employers in your portfolio, particularly in the small- and medium-sized sector. It is also not financially feasible to offer consulting services to assist in the risk management process. So what are your differentiators? How can you add value, ensure quality of service and further engage your clients without massive additional investment? If a simple risk profiling tool was offered by insurers, it would significantly boost their ability to assist employers in better managing their workers' compensation costs and impacts. RiskAdvisor has developed such a tool, which allows a business to:

• Assess the current status of health and safety risk;
• Benchmark performance within its industry using global A.M. Best data;
• Identify gaps in health and safety business processes;
• Prioritize resources;
• Offer specific solutions to better manage health and safety risk; and
• Facilitate continuous improvement.

The simple-to-use system highlights known industry hazards, good work/health/safety/injury management practice and what risk management controls are (or could be) in place. It delivers performance benchmarks and the ability for employers to provide their own risk ratings. Employers seeking to understand their broader risks can even use the RiskAdvisor system to profile industry-specific insurable and business risks. See also: Avoiding Workplace Disaster And Workers' Compensation Costs   This type of tool will help an employer prioritize its activities and means insurers can drive increased client engagement and deploy support more cost-effectively. Even more importantly, the tool shifts the focus away from purely reducing claims costs to actively minimizing injuries — a win/win for insurers, employers and employees. Here's a sample of a checklist from the RiskAdvisor system: