At CorVel our mission has been to make workers' compensation less costly and a friendlier benefit for employees. Work related injuries have always been an important concern for employers. Though automation has improved the worksite, change has created new kinds of injuries and work related issues. Inevitably some claims become contentious, further complicating workers' compensation administration.

Since workers' compensation has always included claims for indemnity payments, managing claims has been the province of adjusting firms, and automation has not traditionally been a focal point of service development. Regulations are set uniquely in each state, and some work classes have unique benefit schedules. As a result, the combinations of different entitlements with the lack of automation, create a blizzard of paperwork.

Costs can range from 2% of wages, to as high as 10%. During the 1990s, a wave of low-priced reinsurance created a period when workers' compensation was particularly inexpensive for most employers. However today, the increased risks posed by terrorist threats, coupled with low yields on insurance investments, have created a high priced environment. Reinsurers have backed away from the market. Employers are finding workers' compensation to be expensive and complicated.

New regulations, MCO's and now HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) have created a quagmire of regulatory compliance complexities. These added challenges have come together just as one of the most debilitating recessions in many decades has hit hard at corporate financial resources. Every piece of the process is expensive and complex. This market is in position for more advanced automated information processing. Although in the past most systems capabilities had not reached critical mass, we believe that the time has arrived for increased productivity in the managing of disability claims.

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