Emerging Trends Transforming Workers Compensation

There are numerous benefits associated with workers' compensation, including medical care for injured workers, death benefits for their spouses, and vocational rehabilitation.

FREMONT, CA: The worker's compensation industry has been marked by uncertainty in the past few years. As a result of new working styles, shifting cost concerns, lagging tech adoption, and other changes.

What makes the future of workers' compensation so bright in the light of all this change?

As a result of these transitions, insurance is undergoing a digital transformation at a rapid pace. We are just around the corner from implementing workflows that improve efficiencies and create better outcomes for workers.

Listed below are the reasons why insurance professionals should be excited about the future of workers' compensation:

New opportunities will arise as a result of technology: AI, new data sources, and increased processing power will help insurers improve their workers' compensation offerings. Aside from improving claims efficiency, workers' compensation technology is also changing how workers navigate their workers' compensation experience, such as videoconferencing for risk management, virtual claims assessments, telehealth, and wearables. 

Digital transformation is just beginning and will continue to drive efficiencies: In the next three to five years, claims process automation will be the most important technology for insurance carriers, TPAs, and MCOs, according to the 2022 Workers' Comp Industry Insights Survey Report. As a result of digital transformation, they are able to do more with less and solve complex problems more quickly.

The adoption curve for digital assistants is just the beginning: As connected and smart devices become more prevalent, digital assistants offer new opportunities both to keep workers healthy and to streamline the claims processes. Workers can use personal digital assistants to make safer decisions, understand their benefits, file claims and manage their cases.

The transfer of knowledge between generations can be facilitated by technology: Workers comp stakeholders are most concerned about the changing workforce. Insurers will face a generational transition of adjusters in the coming years as baby boomers retire. It is possible to codify and transfer knowledge to new claims adjusters with the help of AI and other technology solutions.

Inflation and recession can be offset by technology: Inflation is negatively affecting costs, and rates are being pushed down by regulators, but technology solutions can reduce losses. Inflation can be mitigated by actually settling claims and by settling them with optimal outcomes for both insurers and claimants.

There is a larger talent pool when it comes to hybrid work: While 71 percent of workers comp stakeholders are worried about attracting and retaining talent, the covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how individuals work. With the evolution of the flexible workplace, employers will be able to hire the best talent from around the world, and employees will be more satisfied at work. Recruiting for claims professionals and IT roles, which are top concerns, can be made easier through this method.

As the industry matures, it will become data-informed, not data-driven: We are already moving from a "data-driven" to a "data-informed" vision of the future in the insurance industry. Data drives the decision-making process in a data-driven organization. With the help of technology such as natural language processing (NLP), a data-informed organization relies on the instincts of its insurance professionals to use data as another tool in its toolkit. Claims professionals are not replaced by technology; it helps them to do their jobs more efficiently.

Disruptive thinking is welcomed by executives: As insurance leaders have embraced insurtech, they now recognize the value of industry disruption. Some new tech companies aim to disrupt insurance, but they lack industry experience. A well-established insurance company that embraces disruptive thinking and looks for new ways to improve workers comp can gain a competitive advantage. 

In the center, the worker is moving: Injured workers are receiving the best care from carriers rather than the minimal level of care provided by others. The old way of thinking was that efficiency in claims and technology came at the expense of the patient, prioritizing the cheapest or fastest option. Nevertheless, AI can help claims professionals identify potential concerns in a worker's case and identify the best providers for specific injuries, resulting in better outcomes.