Targeting your biggest workers’ compensation claim and implementing a strategy to improve it can lower your claims and your costs. Industries that have employees working in high risk environments or labor intensive environments know the importance of managing workers’ compensation claims. But, even nonprofit organizations with standard office environments should pay attention and manage this area of risk.
In August 2011, The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) published a report titled, “Workers Compensation Claim Frequency.” Their analysis of claims and trends revealed a success story. The NCCI study showed that as more and more U.S. workers began using computer keyboards in the 1990s, the frequency and problem of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) became a fast-growing source of Workers’ Compensation (WC) claims throughout the U.S.
Insurance companies sought to slow this trend and reduce the number of CTS claims. They and consultants began targeting the ergonomics of work station design and other conditions that were believed to lead to CTS, providing employers and individuals with measures one could take in the work place to prevent or significantly mitigate the development of CTS. Did all this time and attention to targeting CTS pay off for the insurance companies and employers?
Success in Lowering Claim Types
Well, according to the report cited above, the frequency of Carpal Tunnel Claims has declined a successful 47% from 2005 to 2009. Virtually every type of business has the potential for some form of repetitive motion injury or for a similar problem area (e.g., back claims for commercial drivers) that affects a large number of employees. This CTS example shows that focusing on specific operational or procedural environmental issues can yield dramatic results in reducing workers’ compensation claims. The employers who implemented the preventive CTS measures, such as more ergonomic equipment and conditions for their workers, received a reward for their investment. Their efforts reduced costly WC claims and increased worker productivity.
Coordinating the development of targeted loss control and claims reduction programs requires expertise and can be tremendous work. Peoples First has expert experience with designing and implementing such programs, providing this as a service to our clients. Just as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome claims were targeted for reduction by multiple parties to the Workers’ Compensation system, and those efforts produced great outcomes, you can rely on Peoples First to help you identify and attack potential systemic issues in your workplace environment and reduce your long-term Workers’ Compensation costs.