• Menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Search
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
 
CHOOSE BROADSPIRE

Amaxx Workers Comp Blog

Reduce Workers Compensation Costs By 20-50%

Header Right

  • Home
    • Training Center
  • Get Started
    • Newcomers Class for WC Professionals
    • Subscribe to Free Newsletter
    • Free Training Center Account
    • Return to Work Resources
    • WC Claims Mgmt. Resources
    • Insurance Advisor Resources
  • Membership
    • Insider (free account)
    • WC Mastery
    • Teams & Managers Mastery
    • Training Partners
  • Products
    • On-Demand Courses
    • Specialty Courses
    • Certifications & Mastery Courses
    • Ultimate Guidebooks
  • Blog
    • Video Blogs
    • COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic
  • Login

Mobile Menu

Choose Broadspire

CHOOSE BROADSPIREBroadspire Delivers Meaningful Results to Our Clients and Their Claimants
  • Home
    • Training Center
  • Get Started
    • Newcomers Class for WC Professionals
    • Subscribe to Free Newsletter
    • Free Training Center Account
    • Return to Work Resources
    • WC Claims Mgmt. Resources
    • Insurance Advisor Resources
  • Membership
    • Insider (free account)
    • WC Mastery
    • Teams & Managers Mastery
    • Training Partners
  • Products
    • On-Demand Courses
    • Specialty Courses
    • Certifications & Mastery Courses
    • Ultimate Guidebooks
  • Blog
    • Video Blogs
    • COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic
  • Login
  • Search
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
You are here: Home / Workers Comp Basics / WC 101 / 5 More Things The New Workers Comp Manager Needs to Know

5 More Things The New Workers Comp Manager Needs to Know

October 27, 2016 By //  by Michael B. Stack Leave a Comment

Being new to workers’ compensation can often seem like you are trying to navigate a foreign land. It helps to know what to expect getting started.  Here are five additional items it helps to know about the job.

 

  1. Sometimes it is time to babysit.

Injuries do happen. The employee needs to know the company still cares after the worker is no longer able to work. If there is a workers compensation coordinator, you can delegate to her the job of keeping in touch with all the injured workers until they are back to work doing transitional duty. The best policy is to contact the injured employee after each medical appointment to learn of any issues with their medical treatment, their return to work status and any concerns they have about their job or their work comp claim. By showing the injured employees the employer cares, it will have an overall effect of lowering cost of workers compensation.

 

 

  1. Know the adjuster(s).

The adjuster is now a new best friend. A competent adjuster who does the job well will make the WC manager’s job easier. The better the working relationship with the adjuster, the fewer snags encountered on workers compensation claims. (The fewer adjusters to work with, the easier it is to learn their strong points and weak points. If the claims are not already consolidated with the minimum number of adjusters possible to cover the claims, work toward consolidating claims with the best adjusters available.

 

 

  1. Know your insurance broker.

The broker is now a second new best friend. A mistake a lot of new workers comp managers make is thinking the broker works for or is an employee of the insurance company. The broker is a knowledgeable business person who works for the employer as an advisor. The broker’s main job is to keep the employer (insured) happy.  Discuss with the broker what benefits are provided. Hold the broker to this, and the new job will get easier. Expect more than simply an annual stewardship report. Ask the broker to be proactive and make suggestions about your workers compensation program. 

 

  1. Know the return to work program.

The better the company’s transitional duty program, also known as modified duty or light duty, the quicker and faster the workers compensation claims will come to an end. The company is going to be paying the cost of the indemnity benefits through higher workers comp premiums. To reduce the cost of those benefits, return the employee to modified duty. While the injured employee may not be as productive as an uninjured employee, all the productivity of the injured employee on light duty is benefiting the company to some extent while reducing the cost of the claim.

 

  1. Review the claim files.

If asked, most third party administrators or insurance companies will arrange online access to the claim file notes where the adjuster records the activities and events of the claim. While the file notes are helpful, they do not tell the whole story. Go to the claims office and read everything in the claim files. The claims office will probably try to talk you into doing an on-line review, but an in-person review with the adjuster(s) about the claims will provide the most information. There are also claim consultants who do claim file audits, if that is preferable.

 

Good luck in the new role as the work comp manager. Use the ideas and consult our website often for advice on workers compensation.  For additional information on workers’ compensation cost containment best practices, register as a guest for our next live stream training.

 

Author Michael Stack, Principal, COMPClub, Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their work comp costs by 20% to 50%.  He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is founder of COMPClub, an exclusive member training program on workers compensation cost containment best practices. Through these platforms he is in the trenches on a working together with clients to implement and define best practices, which allows him to continuously be at the forefront of innovation and thought leadership in workers’ compensation cost containment. Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

 

 

©2016 Amaxx LLC. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.

 

Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker, attorney, or qualified professional.

 

Filed Under: WC 101

Related Articles

Should You Tell Employees About Workers’ Comp?

Should You Tell Employees About Workers’ Comp?

Taking the “I” Out of the Workers’ Compensation Team

Taking the “I” Out of the Workers’ Compensation Team

Workers Compensation Management Starts With Assessment and Training

Workers Compensation Management Starts With Assessment and Training

Is Your Comp Medical Provider Brochure Complete?

Is Your Comp Medical Provider Brochure Complete?

Say What? Workers Compensation Abbreviations Defined

Say What? Workers Compensation Abbreviations Defined

14 Workers’ Comp Basics for the Smart Business Owner

14 Workers’ Comp Basics for the Smart Business Owner

Is Workers Compensation Taxable?

Is Workers Compensation Taxable?

Get a Handle on Your Account Handling Instructions

Get a Handle on Your Account Handling Instructions

Top 5 Misconceptions Surrounding Workers Compensation

Top 5 Misconceptions Surrounding Workers Compensation

What is Excess Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

What is Excess Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

Work Comp 101 – What Are Indemnity Benefits?

Work Comp 101 – What Are Indemnity Benefits?

Workers’ Comp Fundamental Truth – It Doesn’t Have to Be So Hard

Workers’ Comp Fundamental Truth – It Doesn’t Have to Be So Hard

Free Download

Step-by-Process to Master Workers' Comp in 90 Days - FREE Download Click Here Now!

Train to Succeed

BECOME CERTIFIED IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Proven Course Catalog & WC Toolbox Give You The Power To Achieve Lower Costs and Better Injured Worker Outcomes

VISIT WORKERS' COMP TRAINING CENTER

Previous Post: « Progress Seen in California Workers Comp
Next Post: Ohio BWC Calls on Private Employer Members to ‘True up’ »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

FREE DOWNLOAD

Step-by-Process to Master Workers' Comp in 90 Days - FREE Download Click Here Now!

Our Sponsors

Broadspire

Workers’ Comp 3rd-Party Administrator
 

Catastrophic Care Management, Complex Care, and Specialty Networks
 

Ametros

Post-Settlement Administration
 

Medicare Secondary Payer Services
 

Medcor

Injury Triage, Onsite Clinics

Read Our Award-Winning Blog

Blog Categories

Search Our Archive

Subscribe to Our FREE Newsletter

Footer

Search Our Archive

Search our continually growing archive of over 2500 articles about Workers' Comp issues.

Quiclinks

  • Calculators
  • Terms & Abbreviations
  • Glossary of WC Premium Terms
  • WC Resources
  • Best Practices
  • Industries

RSS Recent Blog Posts

  • Why Every Employer Should Request Their Account Handling Instructions
  • 16 Points you MUST include in your Account Handling Instructions
  • No Employee Rapport is a Big Employer Mistake
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEE NEWSLETTER
Let Us Help You Stomp Down the High Cost of Workers' Comp!
Top of Page ↑
  • Home
  • Training Center
  • Get Started
  • Membership
  • Products
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Login
Copyright © 2021 Amaxx, LLC. All Rights Reserved. · Privacy Policy / Legal Notice