Advisen reported this week, in their “Did you Know Column,” that it really is easy to design a worker’s compensation program by follow these five key steps.1. Find out where you are. Before you know where you need to go, you will need to know where you are now. Finding out the cause of the problems is an excellent way to start. Many employers misdiagnose the cause of the problem. Often, high costs are blamed on poor quality claims handling by the insurance company or TPA, when that is not the cause of the problem. Many times, the problem lies with lack of operational procedures at the company level. To get a flavor of how the assessment works, take the free, Workers’ Comp IQ at: http://www.workerscompkit.com/intro/
- Compare your current best practices to the industry best practices. The top 10 workers’ comp key cost drivers are in the 2009 RIMS Benchmark Survey® and include how many companies have company-wide return to work programs, chargeback systems, visit their medical providers, have employee brochures, and others. Resource: http://www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/advisen-commercial-insurance-information.php
- Planning Tools: Use a management convincer. Show management how much in sales it takes to pay for workers comp and it will be a lot easier to convince them to give you the resources to buy a book, attend a conference or get other resources you may need. It puts everything into perspective. For example, if your total incurred costs were $1,500,000 this year, and your profit margin is 6%, it will cost you $25 MILLION to replace that loss on the bottom line.
Find out your numbers at: http://www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/calculator.php
- Document Development: At minimum, you need an employee brochure, post injury response documents, letters to medical clinics and claims handlers, and a communication strategy. (workersxzcompxzkit)
Resource: Document Gallery http://www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/gallery/index.htm
- Present to Management a prioritized list developed from the assessment and recommendations and a calendar plan of action items, together with a cost estimate so you can ask for and receive adequate resources to develop a successful workers’ compensation program. You get a list of recommendations with your National Workers’ Compensation Management Score®, but it helps to brainstorm a bit about the recommendations, and then prioritize them for management.
Resource: http://reduceyourworkerscomp.com//documents/Action_Plan.pdf
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers’ Compensation costs, including airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He can be contacted at: [email protected] or 860-553-6604.
WC Books: http://www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/workers-comp-books-manuals.php
TD Calculator: www.ReduceYourWorkersComp.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC Calculator: http://www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/calculator.php
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers’ comp issues.
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