Employers, carriers and third-party administrators can improve workers' compensation outcomes by ensuring that their claim processes focus on the timely and professional delivery of the following six critical elements. (Credit: Raxpixel.com/Shutterstock) Employers, carriers and third-party administrators can improve workers' compensation outcomes by ensuring that their claim processes focus on the timely and professional delivery of the following six critical elements. (Credit: Raxpixel.com/Shutterstock)

Improving workers' compensation claim outcomes in a statutory, no-fault system is challenging but achievable. A successful claims strategy should be informed by the loss data, focused on returning injured employees back to health and targeted to reduce cost drivers. It requires flexibility to accommodate every claim on its own merits, while providing the framework to guide adjusters toward a common goal.

Loss triangles teach us that time is the biggest impediment to improving workers' compensation outcomes. Statistically, the longer claims are open, the more they cost. Experienced adjusters know that time often gives rise to unfortunate and spurious events (such as narcotic addiction, claimant comorbidities, motivations for secondary gain, lawyer involvement, and unrelated complaints, that can cause claims to worsen and costs to increase. Consequently, a claims strategy that shortens the life of workers' compensation claims is the most effective way to improve results.

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