Claims News Service, Jan.10, 9:35 a.m. EST -- Insurance buyers see increasing value from reducing their total cost of risk across multiple lines of commercial insurance, according to a new survey commissioned by Wausau Insurance, a national property and casualty insurance company.

Eighty-one percent (up from 70 percent last year) of commercial insurance buyers said they saved at least one dollar in lost productivity expenses for every dollar saved by reducing workers' compensation claim expenses. And three-fourths (up from 60 percent last year) of respondents said they save at least a dollar in lost productivity expenses (and related uncovered loss of value) for each dollar saved by reducing claim costs for general liability, property, and commercial auto lines.

According to the survey, respondents said they saved at least two dollars in lost productivity expenses for every dollar saved by reducing claim expenses for all four lines of coverage. For the second year in a row, respondents said they get somewhat higher lost-productivity savings from workers' compensation than from the other three lines of coverage, although the gap is narrowing.