In today’s marketplace, finding the competitive advantage whileensuring best-in-class products and customer service is whatdifferentiates one insurer from another. In the world of workers’compensation (WC), industry-leading insurers have identifiedpre-claim nurse triage programs as the newest competitive edge.First-aid screening by telephone results in many benefits,including better care for employees and lower workers’ compcosts.

As we observed with other innovations over the years, theadoption curve of pre-claim nurse triage programs resembles what weexperienced in the 1990s with return-to-work (RTW) programs. Theinitial adoption is slow, but when the benefits of a new serviceare recognized, implementation moves quickly. Today, we’reapproaching the tipping point at which pre-claim triage is rapidlygaining greater market acceptance. Consider the fact that thelargest WC insurers are in the process of implementing a triageservice or evaluating one with the intent to install such aprogram.

As a former insurance underwriter and then an agency owner, Irecall many business owners who resisted launching RTW programs.Over time, however, data clearly showed such programs reduced costsby helping employees get back to work faster. Early adoptersexperienced significant advantages over their competitors, and RTWprograms are now the norm with proven results.