Mono-line Workers Compensation Insurance Companies – What Is It They Can Do Exactly?

Readers of my blog know that preach buying your workers compensation insurance policy from an insurance company that sells only workers compensation and no other types of policies.  This is because I have found that with their expertise and understanding of this insurance product they can reduce claims costs, and help get your employees back to work more quickly.  All of this helps them keep their rates low and save you money on your first policy with them as well as on your renewal policy.      Today I want to drill down deeper into this issue and help you understand what these extra services are and why they will cut your claims costs and save you money on your workers compensation insurance rates.  That way, when you are considering one of these insurance companies for your business, you will know which questions to ask.  Take it from me, not all of these mono-line workers compensation insurance companies are created equally.

To start, consider how these insurance companies often have an in depth medical bill review process for all medical claims.  The most talented at this have found that there are huge savings to be found simply by reviewing and challenging the medical bills themselves and their tricky coding.  Applying national guidelines for coding edits can often reveal huge savings by stopping some of the catch all codes where billing inaccuracies are often dumped.  One insurance company recently reported that unbundling overcharges found by in house bill reviews saved 49.8% on medical costs for an average claim.  Carefully applying medical limits and rulings to fees also generated savings of 38.46% on physician fee schedules.    Verifying the diagnosis according to medical records and examining medical records to ensure bill coding accuracy saved additional money on the medical portion of claims.

Now let’s take a look at some of the service options that have also proven to reduce the costs of workers compensation claims.  Companies that offer an online notice of injury and fast claims reporting have seen huge reductions in claims costs.  To learn how fast reporting cuts claim costs, read my blog on that topic here.   Another money saving approach has been to assign one claims adjuster to each company for all claims.  Imagine how having the same claims adjuster on every claim will cut down your time in claims processing and help you build a relationship with someone who will be working hard to help you reduce your claims costs and prevent claims from happening in the first place.  Implementing  proactive return to work programs that get the employee back to work in some kind of capacity sooner have proven to save the employer money both in terms of claims costs but in down time and replacement worker costs.  This not only shows other employees that you care about them, this also has the added benefit of getting the injured employee back to work full time much more quickly.    And many of these insurance companies employ highly trained and very experienced special investigation units.  These units investigate possible fraudulent claims to control unnecessary expenses associated with these kinds of claims.

Many employers who stumble on to a mono-line workers compensation insurance company to protect their business may only see the lower price on the front end.   And that can be a trap as often a mono-line workers comp company may come into a state with lower rates in an attempt to buy up business before raising their rates in years 2 and 3.  But to save you money today and tomorrow, an insurance company needs to be proactive in implementing techniques and training that will help reduce the frequency and severity of future claims as well as to reduce the costs of a claims that have already occurred.   

At Clinard Insurance Group we represent several fine mono-line workers compensation insurance companies that can save you money on your workers compensation insurance both today and tomorrow.  We insure hundred and hundreds of small businesses all across North Carolina and South Carolina.    If you would like help with your workers compensation insurance policy, please feel free to call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557.