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Even though workers' compensation claims frequency has declined every year for more than a decade, workers' compensation costs have continued to rise. Twenty years ago, the National Council on Compensation Insurance reported that workers' compensation indemnity losses represented more than half of total losses. For 2006, however, it was workers' compensation medical losses that represented more than half of all total losses—59 percent—and workers' compensation consumed 70 cents of every primary casualty dollar paid by employers
The problems are so vexing that, in 2007:
- 41 states enacted reforms to their workers' compensation laws;
- More than 1,000 bills with workers' compensation-related issues were introduced throughout the United States; and
- More than 20 percent of the 1,000 bill introduced were passed.
Marsh's National Workers' Compensation Practice
Marsh's National Workers' Compensation Practice serves client needs in relation to workers' compensation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and under various federal laws. The practice is also able to provide information on Canadian workers' compensation, via our Canadian operations, which encompass Marsh North America.
The practice is focused on various current and emerging issues in the workers' compensation industry. Central to our goal is keeping our clients and colleagues abreast of jurisdictional legislation change and reform impact. The practice interprets what reform changes mean to employers and, where possible, what can be done to optimize cost-saving benefits on a state-by-state basis.
Marsh also has established two teams of colleagues who serve as workers' compensation resource experts for all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and territories outside of the United States. Each group is able to answer workers' compensation-related questions, including claims issues.
With the Workers' Compensation Expeditors' team, Marsh has a contact for each state that is able to assist with the client's claims history and its overall influence on their renewal. They are able to help with classification and rating questions. Our second team provides a designated jurisdictional expert for workers' compensation claims for each state who provide information and support on various claims issues. Familiar with state specific labor codes and case law, the jurisdictional expert can identify the effect of a specific claim.
Working together with our workers' compensation expeditor and jurisdictional experts, Marsh's National Workers' Compensation Practice is able to provide assistance with workers' compensation legislation, placement, rules and regulations, and claims issues specific to each location of the client's business.
Services and Product Offerings
Marsh's National Workers' Compensation Practice, in conjunction with client advisory and Marsh Risk Consulting colleagues, brings solutions to clients in all market segments and industries that will reduce the frequency and severity of workers' compensation claims and ultimately reduce the cost of losses and expedite injured workers return to the labor force.
The Practice has a portfolio of proprietary advisory products that help reduce workers' compensation claims severity:
VCORESM(Variable Cost of Risk Evaluator)—VCORE is an analytical tool that dissects the client's total cost of risk by comparing and evaluating competing vendors' medical cost outcomes and claims administration costs. It is designed to assist clients in identifying which workers' compensation vendor(s) best help them improve their financial outcomes. VCORE helps the client evaluate the variable cost outcomes of each vendor and enables them to make a more informed selection decision.
Workers' Compensation Past PerformerSM (WCPP)—WCPP provides an analysis of workers' compensation claims and identifies causation factors that may potentially create excessive costs and expenses in a workers' compensation program. The WCPP analysis also provides a comprehensive view of claims manager's activities as well as internal post-loss practices, and prioritizes a series of solutions to improve workers' compensation costs.
Claim Inventory Workout (CIW)—CIW is a claim closure project that focuses on older, legacy claims with a specific emphasis on effecting expedited closure of these aging claims. The intent of CIW is to expedite closure of older cases, allowing a client and claims administrator to focus efforts on newer claims.
Workers' Compensation FirstFactsSM (WCFF)—WCFF is an automated investigative tool that gathers relevant facts following a workplace accident in order to produce compensability and accident investigative reports. WCFF expedites the fact-gathering process to allow more timely compensability decisions.
Paradigm Management Services—Marsh has an arrangement with Paradigm Management Services that gives Marsh the right to offer clients access to Paradigm's case management services for catastrophically injured workers and those with chronic pain issues. Paradigm provides catastrophic medical management services, and benefits clients by controlling their largest workers' compensation exposures through cost guarantees and quality medical management.
The need to aggressively confront the workers' compensation challenges before us continues to gain social, economical and political attention. Marsh's National Workers' Compensation Practice takes a comprehensive, consultative approach to risk management, working as trusted advisors to our clients and colleagues to help drive down our clients' workers' compensation cost — and drive up their profitability. Our team delivers a broad array of risk consulting and claims management services designed to help the client. Our proprietary data and knowledge, along with our new tools and technology touched on above, enable the Workers' Compensation Practice to bring effective total cost of risk solutions to our client.
For more information please contact us:
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