Risk managers seeking to keep Workers' Compensation costs down would do well to utilize claims data and perform analyses that could help them avoid the most expensive claims.
In another of its ongoing discussions about risk, Marsh, the insurance-brokerage arm for Marsh & McLennan Cos., emphasized the value of data-crunching during a webinar titled "Controlling Workers' Compensation Claims Costs."
Scott Robinson, principal of CS STARS, a provider of proprietary risk-management technology tools, notes that when executives begin to sift through the mounds of data available to them from current claims, they can identify cases that incur the most expense.
"It is the 80/20 rule: 20 percent of your claims are producing 80 percent of your cost," says Robinson.
By using analytics, he explains, risk managers can flag high-cost risks in advance, put programs in place to deal with these potential claims and save millions in the process.
Joyce Long, global workforce practice leader for Marsh Risk Consulting (a unit of Marsh), says one effective way to control costs is through an integrated approach that sets goals to reduce workers' injuries by identifying the hazards that can cause those injuries.
Long cites musculoskeletal injuries as an example. She says research can identify where those typical injuries take place and develop "effective intervention" plans aimed at avoiding mishaps.
Tracey Caffrey Ant, primary casualty placement leader for Marsh, says that risk managers need to consider alternative-risk-transfer programs to manage costs.
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