In this article, we will present claims management fundamentals focusing on corporate claims that require the input and contributions of numerous people and departments. However, it should be noted that many of the same fundamentals apply to public entities, risk pools, insurers, and third-party administrators (TPAs).

Ideally, each company should address these fundamentals before claims started coming in, but since that is not possible, these should be developed as soon as practicable. Some of the people and departments that should lead or be involved in this charge include, but are not limited to: senior management, operations managers and supervisors, human resources, occupational health & safety, legal and all company employees.

The extent to which a company wishes to improve upon its claims program will depend on many factors, some of which may be based on the following questions:

• Do we need to take better care of our employees who are injured on the job?

• What liability exposures—for example, trucks, cars, products—are present, and how can we mitigate them?

• What reputational risk do we face if claims are not handled properly?

• How much are claims costs affecting the bottom line?

• To what extent are claims costs material to the overall financial picture?

Obviously avoidance and mitigation are the best ways to avoid these exposures, so a strong safety and loss control program is vital. This article, however, focuses on claims management after a loss, regardless of the actions taken to avoid or mitigate the loss.