The Client and Its Challenge
This heavy manufacturer needed to reduce the company’s outstanding workers’ compensation liabilities. As a result of multiple acquisitions and changing vendors, the client was faced with “run-off” from various carriers. Open claims inventory had become expensive, and the company did not have the internal resources to manage the claims closure process.

The Risk Consulting Solution
After reviewing the client’s claims inventory and closure procedures, Marsh recommended a claim workout strategy to help reduce outstanding liabilities, avoid further deterioration of the claims inventory, and apply focused, specialized resources to the project.

To establish a baseline from which to measure the project’s success, Marsh trended and calculated all of the client’s outstanding workers’ compensation liabilities, excluding retentions, and completed a raw count of all open claims.

Marsh consultants then began sorting all open workers' compensation claims into different categories, including claims that could be settled immediately, claims that required some action to move them closer to settlement, and those that would be unlikely to close. Marsh made specific settlement recommendations to close select claims immediately.

The team also identified specific actions that could bring other claims closer to settlement, migrating the claims to priority status and then eventually to closure. Once again, Marsh consultants closely managed the third-party administrator (TPA) to ensure that follow-up was aggressive and that identified claims were closed.

Throughout the project, Marsh provided quarterly reports to the client to track the claims closure rate.

Results
Through an aggressive claims workout strategy, Marsh reduced the client’s outstanding workers’ compensation liabilities by more than 70 percent.