At the 2017 America’s Claims Event a panel of senior claims executives talked about their insights on where claims are now and how they will evolve in the future. The panel was: Eric Brandt – Managing Director and Chief Claims Officer, Esurance (Moderator) Paul Strohfus – Vice President Claims Legal Services, WR Berkley Corporation John Shaw, Senior Vice President Claims Management, Marsh Risk & Insurance Services Mary Nasenbenny – Senior Vice President Claims, The Hartford Question: What is your view on technology and the impact it will have on claims handling? Answers: When we talked claims technology in the past
(Read the full article…)

At the 2017 America’s Claims event, a panel discussed emerging trends in claims litigation on certain issues. The panel members were all representatives of Your House Counsel: Timothy Crawley – Partner, Anderson Crawley & Burke PLCC Edward Bacon – Partner, Bacon Thornton & Palmer LLP Deana Dagner – Partner, Dagner Schulter Mitzner Weber LLC Paul Miller – Partner, Miller Christie & Kinney PC Christopher Reinkall – Partner, Doherty & Progar LLC Collateral Source Collateral source rules apply to personal injury litigation. They are designed to prevent defendants from being able to argue that medical benefits were paid by a “collateral
(Read the full article…)

At the 2017 America’s Claims Event a session discussed liability exposures from 3D printing. The speaker was Christopher Iliff, Senior Vice President with Swiss Re. 3D printing has the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing industry. It is different from other manufacturing processes in that it is additive vs subtractive. In other words, something is created by 3D printing by layers building upon layers. In traditional manufacturing things are typically created by starting with something large then reducing the size to create the product (punch press, molds, etc). The items that can be 3D printed are rapidly increasing. These include: Entire
(Read the full article…)

At the 2017 America’s Claims Event, a panel discussed the threat about cyber attacks and data breaches. The panel was: Jennifer Coughlin – Partner, Muller Coughlin Danielle Roth – Team Leader Cyber, XL Catlin Atari Soni – Senior Vice President Cyber Claims Advocacy Leader, Marsh USA Inc Cyber policies are different from other coverage in that there is both first party and third party coverage. The first party coverage is for breach response. The carrier will work with the insured to determine what happened, whether it is ongoing, and to mitigate the threat. They will also work with the client
(Read the full article…)

At the 2017 America’s Claims Event a session discussed how auto carriers can improve efficiency by integrating data and analytics into the life of a claim. The speaker was Frank Cesario, Director of Claims with LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Despite increases in satisfaction scores, claims processing continues to be the lowest performing area in the insurance process. First notice of loss is a key touch-point where millennials rate the process much lower than baby boomers as they have an expectation for quicker results based on their life experiences. Strategy for developing an integrated claims platform: Stability – Cannot disrupt your business
(Read the full article…)

At the 2017 America’s Claims Event, a session discussed how technology advancements are enhancing customer service and claims handling. The speaker was Jeff Saye, Global Practice Leader for P&C Insurance Claims with Genpact. Claims organizations are challenged with balancing three competing priorities: Loss Accuracy Expense Control Customer Satisfaction Emerging technologies and big data are enabling carriers to do a better job balancing these priorities and which can create competitive advantages. A typical claims process involves multiple touch points and manual interventions between the claim handler and the person filing the claim. With technology you can reduce these touch points, which
(Read the full article…)

At the 2017 WCIRB Annual Conference, a session discussed the future of work and what his reality vs hype. The speakers were: Ward Brooks, WCIRB Vice President, Research Bill Mudge, WCIRB President and CEO There are a wide variety of views on this issue. Some feel that automation will significantly eliminate jobs in the future, while other feel automation of some jobs will create other job opportunities. The concern of technology having an impact on employment is hardly a new phenomena and traces back to the 1930’s when factory assembly lines were first seen. Can we automate many jobs? Maybe.
(Read the full article…)

At the 2017 WCIRB Annual Conference a session discussed friction issues in the worker’s compensation system. The speakers were: Saul Allweiss, Attorney, Law Offices of Allweiss and McMurtry Tony Milano, WCIRB Vice President, Actuary Frictional costs in workers’ compensation are significantly higher than other systems. For example, to deliver $1 in benefits it cost: $0.04 for the Red Cross $0.02 for Medicare $0.18 for private health insurance $0.53 for California workers’ compensation Session highlights: Defense and medical-legal costs are over three times higher in California than in median NCCI states. A big part of this is is the driven by
(Read the full article…)

At the 2017 WCIRB Annual Conference, a session discussed the how changes in medical science are impacting workers compensation. The speakers were: Roman Kownacki, M.D., Chief Medical Director, Occupational Health, Kaiser Permanente Linda Radler, WCIRB Managing Director, Medical Analytics Opioids California is working to develop a prescription drug formulary and the expectation is that will lead to a reduction in opioid use. Other states that have adopted formularies have experienced this impact. Currently the top 1% of physicians in California are prescribing 33% of all opioids in the workers’ compensation system. This means 90 physicians are having this significant impact.
(Read the full article…)

At the 2017 WCIRB Annual Conference Dave Bellusci, WCIRB Executive Vice President and Chief Actuary, presented an update on the state of California workers’ compensation. The highlights: Premiums in California have doubled from 2009 to 2015. This is a combination of rate increases and payroll increases. Since 2015 the premium growth has moderated due to rates being lower and most of the growth is due to payroll increases. In 2016 California represented 29% of the countrywide workers’ compensation premiums. This is up from 19% in 2009 and driven by strong economic recovery and higher rates in the state. Only 11%
(Read the full article…)