In today’s marketplace, finding the competitive advantage while ensuring best-in-class products and customer service is what differentiates one insurer from another. In the world of workers’ compensation (WC), industry-leading insurers have identified pre-claim nurse triage programs as the newest competitive edge. First-aid screening by telephone results in many benefits, including better care for employees and lower workers’ comp costs.

As we observed with other innovations over the years, the adoption curve of pre-claim nurse triage programs resembles what we experienced in the 1990s with return-to-work (RTW) programs. The initial adoption is slow, but when the benefits of a new service are recognized, implementation moves quickly. Today, we’re approaching the tipping point at which pre-claim triage is rapidly gaining greater market acceptance. Consider the fact that the largest WC insurers are in the process of implementing a triage service or evaluating one with the intent to install such a program.

As a former insurance underwriter and then an agency owner, I recall many business owners who resisted launching RTW programs. Over time, however, data clearly showed such programs reduced costs by helping employees get back to work faster. Early adopters experienced significant advantages over their competitors, and RTW programs are now the norm with proven results.