NU Spotlights National Comp Trends At WCEC

On Monday, Aug. 16, the National Trends program kicks off during the General Session, featuring industry keynoter Paul A. Rodliff, senior vice president and general manager for Commercial Professional Services at Liberty Mutual Group.

NU will also give out its annual "Awards For Excellence in Workers' Compensation," sponsored by NCCI, to three winning risk managers during the General Session.

That afternoon, two panels will be presented. The first focuses on "Insurers Test New Tactic To Curb WC Fraud!"

Sending explanation-of-benefits statements to patients has aided health insurers in detecting fraud by medical providers for many years. Can EOBs also work for workers' compensation carriers?

Some insurers and employers have been using EOBs to catch cheating by providers, with interesting results. This panel, exploring the techniques of setting up an EOB program, will be moderated by Dennis Jay, executive director of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud in Washington, D.C. The speakers will be:

o Steven K. Piper, director of investigative services at Travelers Insurance.

o Laura Clifford, executive director of the Employers Fraud Task Force in Anaheim Hills, Calif.

o Judge David W. O'Brien (Retired), chair of the Appellate Department at Floyd Skeren & Kelly, LLP, Los Angeles, Calif.

Later that afternoon, a panel will spotlight "Tech To The Rescue! How Predictive Modeling Can Save Workers' Comp Carriers."

A trio of modeling experts will examine predictive analytics use, discussing how insurers and their risk management clients can get a better handle on their respective workers' comp exposures using the latest technology tools and techniques. Moderating will be Sam Friedman, Editor In Chief of National Underwriter. Speakers will be:

o Jennifer Tomilin, senior vice president at Zurich North America.

o Steven W. Laudermilch, senior manager at Deloitte Consulting.

o Kaleb Adams, vice president of predictive modeling at Specialty Risk Services.

The National Trends program offers another four sessions on Tuesday, Aug. 17, starting with an "Annual Checkup: What Is The State of the Workers' Comp Market?" The panel will feature a look at the industry's financial health, the impact of health insurance reform on comp providers and buyers, as well as an analysis of how the economic recovery will likely play out for the workers' comp market.

The panel, moderated by Mr. Friedman, features a trio of perspectives from industry leaders, including:

o Jeff Eddinger, rate-making practice leader and senior actuary at NCCI.

o Robert P. Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute.

o Gary L. Hinson, vice president at ACE COMPlete Workers' Compensation Claims.

That will be followed by a panel offering up "Award-Winning Approaches To Workers' Comp Risk Management," featuring this year's winners of NU's "Awards For Excellence In Workers' Compensation Risk Management" sharing the secrets of their success, after NCCI sets the stage by outlining the biggest comp challenges facing employers and insurers.

After lunch, the National Trends Program will explore "What Emerging Exposures Keep Comp Carriers Up At Night?"

Among the biggest threats examined by this expert panel are weather-related risks, the impact on loss frequency and severity posed by the aging U.S. workforce, as well as how to cope with potentially massive, society-wide exposures such as terrorism and pandemics.

Moderated by Mr. Friedman, the panel will feature presentations by:

o Paul E. Walsh, senior vice president of Atmospheric and Environmental Research Inc.

o Constance Bayne, vice president and general manager of risk quality assessment for Liberty Mutual.

o JoAnn Koster, president of specialty workers' comp at Chartis.

NU closes out the National Trends Program with: "Is There A Doctor In The House? How Can Comp Carriers Put A Lid On Drug Costs?"

While workers' comp insurers and risk managers appear to have a handle on the frequency of WC claims, soaring growth in the severity of claims is ruling out any celebrations.

The culprit is the exponential growth in medical care costs–with drugs being a chief cost-driver. This session will focus on how to contain pharmaceutical claims, including the growing use of pharmacy networks in workers' comp, mitigating the cost of "injured worker pharmaceutical therapy," and supervising a pharmacy benefits manager.

Moderated by John Santulli, executive vice president of PMA Group, the panel features presentations by:

o Christina Preisig, senior vice president for managed care at PMA.

o Maria C. Sciame, director of clinical services at PMSI, who will review the results of her firm's annual workers' comp drug trends report.

o George W. Furlong, vice president of client/partner relations at Bunch and Associates.

For more information about the conference, or if you would like to be considered for a spot on the 2011 National Trends program, contact Mr. Friedman at sfriedman@sbmedia.com.

The event is being held at Orlando Marriott World Center Hotel for claims managers and adjusters; agents and brokers; underwriters; risk managers; loss control, managed care and fraud specialists; as well as litigators.

More information is online at http://bit.ly/94VAZP.