Highlights from the 2023 Workers' Compensation Educational Conference

Giving back was a priority at the 77^th Annual Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference in Orlando as attorneys, case managers, physical therapists, social workers, adjusters and others gathered to learn about the newest issues affecting their industries.

Giving Kids the World

For the last 10 years, the Workers’ Compensation Institute (WCI) has supported Give Kids the World (GKTW), a magical village located in Orlando that serves young patients with life-threatening health issues and their families. For a week, they are princesses or pirates who get to live a more carefree life that healthy children can only take for granted. They visit the village with their families and create a lifetime’s worth of memories in a few short days.

This year, WCI pulled together over 100 companies, whose workers painted, raked, served ice cream, created crafts, ran rides, pampered guests in the salon, worked in the café or handled over two months’ worth of chores around the village in just under three hours. Competitors worked side-by-side to serve, sweat and laugh, and the camaraderie that comes from giving back to something greater was obvious.

A gala event on Saturday evening and the accompanying silent auction helped organizers reach their goal of raising $1,000,000 in 10 years for GKTW.

Before the opening keynote, the winners of the 2023 Workers’ Compensation Risk Management Award for Excellence were recognized. The award is presented to organizations that exhibit exceptional performance in mitigating workers’ comp risks and this year’s winners were American Airlines, the City of Beverly Hills California, and the city of Fairfax County in Virginia.

Technology transformation and insurance

The industry keynote was led by Kimberly George, global head of innovation and product development for Sedgwick, and Mark Walls, vice president of client engagement for Safety National, and featured a conversation with Julie Layton, risk management segment leader for Marsh; Scott Rogers, chief client officer for Sedgwick; and Vincent Foderingham, chief executive officer at Partners Risk Strategies, LLC.

“Insurance is rooted in process and tradition,” said Foderingham. “The process is burden-laden and transparency is important.” He questioned why insurers can’t utilize the same type of technology that Domino’s Pizza uses to provide customers with updates on where their pizzas are in the delivery process to enable policyholders to follow their claims throughout their life cycle.

Layton asked why insurers don’t want to be on the cutting edge. “Are we afraid to discover something new? Is it the control we like? Are we afraid to give up control?” She said that too often insurers wait for others to vet new technology to prove it works, but rarely do they want to be the pioneers. “We don’t ask how new technology could answer some of the old problems. We can’t wait for everyone to go first when adapting to technology.”

When it comes to adopting new technology, Rogers recommended making investments based on the three E’s:

• Efficiency in the process – Does the technology make it better for claims examiners;
• Effectiveness – Will insurers be able to spend less money and control costs in the process; and
• Experience – Keeping in mind that nothing is more important than the experience of the person insurers are trying to help.

As the insurance industry enters into its own industrial revolution of transformation, Layton says there are three components to consider:

1. Trust – Can we trust technology? How can we rely on it? We don’t believe everything we hear and see, and how refined is the information we receive?
2. Training – We have to be the self-starters and know how to use the available technology. In our careers, we can’t pass it off to someone else, especially if the information is relevant to our jobs. It’s also important to examine how accepting we are of different types of training.
3. Technology – How much more can we achieve with technology? It has the ability to help us be better decision-makers and speed up how we operate.

Foderingham said that artificial intelligence gives insurers more transparency, which can help improve the process for injured workers. “If we can change the construct of the process as a whole, and provide the transparency needed, I think we can get there.”

Lessons from a Legend

Basketball legend Bill Walton delivered the opening keynote and shared that the ability to learn life’s great lessons through coaches is invaluable. He played for coach John Wooden at UCLA and said that every successful team comprises three components: Sacrifice, discipline and honor. He also highlighted Wooden’s 14 points for success, which he outlined as a pyramid.

The foundation incorporates industriousness, friendship, loyalty, cooperation and enthusiasm. The second tier encompasses self-control, alertness, initiative and intentness. At the heart of the pyramid are condition, skill and team spirit. Just below the peak are poise and confidence and the pinnacle is competitive greatness.

Walton shared that Wooden never talked about winning or losing to his team, but he made practice an enjoyable experience that players couldn’t wait to get to each day. “Persistence, perseverance, commitment and determination are vital to individual success and each day you have to make the choice to go your own way,” he encouraged the audience.

“Training the mind to be the greatest of champions requires the subjugation of the ego,” he explained. “Team goals are more important than ego.”

Despite what many think, Walton said that basketball is not a game of size and strength. “If you think that,” he laughed, “you’ve never spent a night in bed with a mosquito.”

He encouraged the audience to develop the elements of humanity. “You need the creative imagination to come up with ideas. You also need empathy, sympathy and compassion for others.”

Related:

How American Airlines prioritizes employee wellness

The City of Beverly Hills takes a mindful approach to risk management

Changing perceptions: A four-pronged approach to worker risk