Manage insurance claims to get handle on hardening market

Insurance pricing for commercial accounts nationwide went from an average 2.9 percent decrease in the first quarter of 2011 to an average 4.4 percent increase in the first quarter of 2012, with medium-sized employers seeing the largest increases on average.

Closer to home, nearly 80 percent of agents and brokers in the Midwest report seeing average commercial account premium increases of up to 10 percent, according to recent surveys by the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.

The reasons for such increases aren’t always simple, although there are a few likely contributing factors: economic upheaval in Europe, numerous weather-related catastrophes in 2011, higher unemployment, and the still-shaky U.S. economy all bear some responsibility.

These factors, along with the cyclical nature between hard and soft markets, are leading toward higher premium costs and tighter underwriting standards.

How to handle insurance claims

Employers not proactively addressing their business risks through sound risk prevention practices will feel the hard market’s pressure more than others. There are things businesses can do to help limit increased risk and insurance costs. At a high level, employers should:

• Understand the issues and build a strategic plan to manage the cost of risk both pre- and post-loss.
• Communicate early and often with your agent or broker to minimize surprises and create trust.
• Use noninsurance services available through your broker, which can help reduce risk and control losses.
• Fully understand how insurance is priced.
• Conduct loss trend analyses to know how your individual loss experience affects pricing.
• Continually seek innovative ideas to manage risks. Everything from sound hiring practices to aggressive claims management can make a difference.
• Bring accountability to your programs. What gets measured gets done.
• Create a culture of safety and well-being. A written safety program sitting on a shelf is not going to cut it.

The goal: fewer insurance claims

The surest way to minimize the effects of a hardening insurance market is to eliminate and reduce claims. Fewer claims makes you more profitable for the insurer, so they will try harder to keep you as a customer.

Learn where your losses are coming from. Your agent or broker should provide a claims analysis to find out if there are shifts or facilities that are more prone to loss, what types of losses are most common, and whether your claims are driven by frequency or severity—that is, whether you’re more likely to have more lower-cost claims or fewer high-cost ones.

You can then evaluate and institute loss prevention solutions, which are seldom simple and unilaterally focused. For example, if your facility is experiencing falls that lead to numerous small dollar-value claims, a safety specialist should inspect the facility to identify potential hazards. A human resources specialist should also talk to the people involved. Some possible solution components could include:

• safety training and policies to enforce new work procedures;
• new employee screenings or recurring employee testing;
• new or improved safety equipment;
• incentive programs for managers and/or employees for accident-free work;
• job hazard analyses;
• improved accident reporting and investigation procedures.

Aggressive management

Claims will occur. Managing them wisely can make a big difference on your premiums. Partnering with an experienced claims management team to monitor insurance carriers and work with adjusters is a good start. Relying on a carrier’s claims specialists alone probably isn’t enough.

The hardening market is here. While not all factors are under a company’s control, there is much that can be done to soften the impact. Insurers will reward only the safe and proactive companies with lower-than-average premium hikes. Developing pre-emptive and proactive risk prevention strategies can be the critical difference for employers during a hard market.