Transcript:
Kaitlyn Mattson (00:06):
Hello there and welcome to the DigIn podcast. I'm Kaitlyn Mattson, the managing editor of Digital Insurance. I'm here today with Rob Evans, director of Claim Process Technology at Broadspire. He leads initiatives to integrate technology there and has more than 25 years of industry experience. Hi Rob, thanks for joining us today.
Rob Evans (00:29):
Thank you. It's a pleasure.
Kaitlyn Mattson (00:31):
We're going to chat about tech priorities for workers' compensation insurers. Do you want to start by telling us a little bit about how executives should define and approach the objectives for these programs?
Rob Evans (00:45):
Yeah, the first step that's vital is that executives clearly identify what they're trying to fix, accomplish, or avoid. And incidentally, I've found that to be a really helpful framework even for my personal life. Next time you come across some situation, if you think, what am I trying to fix, accomplish, or avoid? Super helpful. We get all kinds of answers and that's fantastic. We want some more of that freeform thought process, but if in the answer there's not a definition of what success looks like, then that would be the next thing that's really important to make sure is communicated. And what we've seen in the marketplace is there's typically four areas of focus for workers' compensation programs: things like claims and experience, regulatory compliance, the efficiency of the claims process, and then the efficacy of the claims process. And while all of these are important, maybe you've heard the saying, 'if everything's a priority, then nothing's a priority.' So with that in mind, it's important that we're really clear on what success looks like by including a specific metric and a target date. Lots of examples, but just one, accomplishing a $6 million reduction in the total cost of risk by the end of fiscal year 27, we've got a specific metric and a target date, then we can start talking about how all the different aspects of the program design can help us get to that goal.
Kaitlyn Mattson (02:20):
That makes sense. How does technology play a role in helping achieve those objectives? I imagine especially with efficiency, it plays a part.
Rob Evans (02:31):
For sure. There's a couple, probably two things that come to mind in terms of how we've seen technology helping data analytics and applied artificial intelligence or ai. And so on the data analytics standpoint, it's important to be able to see where things have been, where they currently stand, and then based on that decide, Hey, you know what, the program's optimized, let's just make sure we maintain, versus are there some areas for improvement. That said, even the best in class programs we've seen will inevitably have some room for additional improvement. The only constant is change. So even if you've got things optimized, you got to really stay on top of things. And this is where bringing in the AI component is super helpful when it comes to any improvement opportunities. So applying AI to the claim process can be a key aspect, particularly with the ongoing advances in detecting and helping develop strategic interventions. So this is especially true as we start thinking about maybe re-imagining client claim reviews as well as thinking about just some ways to not overwhelm the claim operations staff with notification fatigue, but really finding those key inflection points for either an adjuster or a team manager to take a look at the claim. And so all of these things, were using these different tools to roll back up to answer the question, how are we tracking and what are we doing to help achieve a given program's concept of success?
Kaitlyn Mattson (04:25):
Yeah, it's really interesting. I think there's a lot of effort for prevention. People are trying to detect what could cause an injury beforehand. Kind of curious how data analytics have evolved in workers' compensation.
Rob Evans (04:43):
So I see data analytics helping on a couple of fronts. So from the loss prevention side, there are some different technologies and techniques we've seen there. We've also seen not only for evaluating pre-loss, but also post-loss considerations. If you look back at some industry articles or conferences from some number of years ago, it was all about big data, big data. So fortunately we've gotten good at building huge data centers and being able to harness a lot of this big data. And so with that, it's also brought along an evolution of people being able to better visualize the various forms of data that we have and provide some measurement of the programs. Some of the evolution that we've continued to see has been around either creating or refining suitable benchmarking. And so this evolution in the data analytics space is helping executives in comparing key indicators or KPIs to relevant benchmarks.
(06:02):
Not only how do I compare maybe to the industry average, but how do I compare to best in class? And so some of those benchmarks that we're looking at can be things around cause of loss and safety, so from the loss prevention standpoint as well as then some of the post-loss metrics. The other thing that's been interesting is just this movement from maybe what used to be say, like an annual stewardship to compressing into more frequent publication to monthly, weekly, or depending on a person's appetite or how urgent something is, maybe even daily updates that they're being able to review.
Kaitlyn Mattson (06:50):
Yeah, just interested, you touched on this, but curious to hear how data analytics are helping claims executives specifically, if we can delve more into that.
Rob Evans (07:03):
So with the evolution of data visualization and analytics, there's also improved ability to drill down and uncover opportunities. So even if the program overall is doing reasonably well, being able to say, 'yeah, but actually when we look down, there's this particular business unit that maybe isn't doing quite as well.' And so by helping them, and instead of some kind of big initiative, a one size fits all, you can have more targeted investment because the risk management professionals know for their business, they have other things to invest in other than just the risk financing portion of things. So yeah, just as an executive being able to see how things are currently doing and helping me recalibrate on what to prioritize, do I continue certain initiatives? Do I need some new ones that will help me in whatever I'm trying to fix, accomplish, or avoid over the next six to 24 months? And so another thing too for a claims executive is these analytics are providing an objective way and some common language, common views for everyone to be able to communicate about how the program's doing and where it needs to go.
Kaitlyn Mattson (08:29):
Yeah, that's really interesting. There's a lot more talking amongst departments these days, I feel. And yeah, common language where people understand what priorities are and what that looks like. Yeah, curious. I feel like AI is a real hot topic and interested to hear how it's working in tandem with data analytics. It's easier to see what's in the data with AI. Yeah. Is that true?
Rob Evans (09:02):
Oh, for sure. If I had a nickel for all the AI references and articles, I could retire young. It's an all over hot topic. One thing I like to do is kind of level set. When we talk about AI, I like to think of the claims process like cooking where AI provides some of the ingredients for the various recipes. So predictive models, that's one aspect of AI or ingredient, but what's really heated up the discussion around the dinner table in the claims world with AI over the past couple of years has been an ingredient like ChatGPT, which leverages another aspect of AI known as large language models or LLMs. Now there's lots of other AI ingredients too, but predictive models and LLMs are providing a couple of the key ingredients that we use to serve up quality claim outcomes. Continuing my corny food metaphor here, people at a restaurant like to order up different dishes or want some customizations made to their order. So if we think of data analytics as a menu, AI lets us think about ways to create the most delicious dish we desire, like finding litigation or closure opportunities that align with achieving the executive's concept of success.
Kaitlyn Mattson (10:26):
I'm hitting the halfway point of my questions, so I think we're going to take a quick break and then we'll be back in a few moments. Welcome back to the Dig in podcast. I'm speaking with Rob Evans, director of Claim process Technology at Broadspire. Let's just jump back in. So what innovations are happening in workers' compensation that you think are key in the next couple of years?
Rob Evans (10:58):
You had mentioned earlier departments talking to each other more, and I think that's a reflection of this continued evolution of enterprise risk management. So instead of operating in a silo, we're seeing that integration of other initiatives that either directly or indirectly lead to better claim outcomes. Some examples might be company wellness programs to help with diabetes management or smoking cessation programs that are potential obstacles to recovering from the work injury. We've seen intentionality about coordinating with leave and disability that can run concurrent with the work comp claim. Technology helps marry the various data sources and the programming interfaces with work comp. We've also seen some innovative ways of approaching loss prevention. So imagine you combine your workers' comp loss data with general liability data from a retail environment. There's a certain intersection where employees and customers share those common areas, and so that presents some opportunities for loss prevention to help reduce your total cost of risk by keeping both employees and customers safe. So anyone who knows me when I go to the grocery store, I'm a nervous wreck because I'm constantly scanning and ah, there's a loose grape on the floor that either me, other customers or employees might slip on. So these certainly aren't an exhaustive list, but you're also seeing some other innovations such as what some refer to as wearables, as well as new video technology that can provide real time alerts of imminent danger.
Kaitlyn Mattson (12:45):
Yeah, some of those specific digital tools are really interesting. Yeah, the video and the wearables are curious to me. I imagine that there's a lot that goes into that. Do you have any, or do you want to share any specific digital tools that you're interested in that you see being deployed?
Rob Evans (13:07):
Yeah. Digital tools in the work comp space, of course, are intended to improve processes and outcomes for clients, injured workers and adjusters. So for clients, increasingly we're seeing customized dashboards and notifications for injured workers, increased usage whether it's webpages or phone apps, texting, and then for adjusters or even team managers might think of as smart notifications and escalations to ensure right actions taken at the right time.
Kaitlyn Mattson (13:41):
You mentioned earlier about notification fatigue, and I'm curious if this plays a role in the deployment of more digital tools and having access to more options. I imagine that comes along with more notifications.
Rob Evans (13:56):
Yeah, we have to be really careful. What we've done for our business is we have these squads where we're continuing to engage subject matter experts in key contacts from different departments to make sure that we're deploying the right things, they're working correctly, and that we don't get too lost on any over index on one certain concept. Let's make sure we keep the main thing, the main thing in delivering that overall quality.
Kaitlyn Mattson (14:31):
Yeah, this is a topic I think for the insurance industry as a whole, but I imagine that talent and retention issues for workers' comp are an issue. And curious to hear your perspective on this and what you notice happening in the industry to retain and bring more people in.
Rob Evans (14:54):
Talent and retention are significant challenges in the workers' comp industry. You have some dynamics of what you might call it, retirement cliff, where you've got a lot of experienced folks retiring, also competition from some other industries, and those are things that can make it hard to attract and keep skilled professionals. There are some colleges or universities that have some risk management programs, but I think most people you would talk to in the industry, nobody took classes in school or thought, oh, I want to grow up to be in claims. A lot of people will have some story how they kind of fell into the industry, but some of the things that we also see in terms of why it's so vital to focus on the attracting and retention of talent has a very meaningful impact potentially on quality timeliness and this institutional knowledge transfer, if you will.
(16:02):
So for the latter, I'm thinking about what it means as an adjuster to know your claim file. I remember a colleague, it was amazing if you mentioned somebody's name, she could tell you their claim number or crying out loud, the status, the facts of loss, the next steps. And as she was talking, she was able to recognize or weave in client service instructions. And so while there are ways that technology can and is helping make sure an adjuster can be aware of those things, whether they've been handling the claim the whole time or just took it over, it's certainly ideal to have consistency in the person handling the claim. This process, especially for lost time claims, is greatly aided because there's that relationship that really helps the claim continue in a positive manner to a fair resolution. So it's vital to attract and retain talent.
(17:03):
And so with this in mind, companies recognizing this are investing in recruiting training and modernizing the role. We see this in things like internships, flexible work arrangements, some of the different technology things we've been talking about. For example, another use case of AI is there's certain tasks that we can automate to reduce the administrative burden where we're not replacing somebody's strategic thinking, but getting a referral after they've made that decision that they don't need to fill out a form, for example. The other thing that's been really key in trying to attract new talent is seeing with the early career folks desire for purpose-driven work. So for example, at Broadspire, our purpose is restoring lives, businesses, and communities. And so that really resonates with somebody looking for a purposeful way to invest their time.
Kaitlyn Mattson (18:07):
Yeah, the knowledge transfer piece is really interesting, especially as a lot of people in the industry retire. The retirement cliff, as you called it, trying to pass along that information to another person I imagine is really difficult. Can you speak a little bit more about that, about how people mentor with each other in order for that kind of longevity and that continuation to happen?
Rob Evans (18:34):
One thing that's been an interesting dynamic, well, during and post-COVID is the prevalence of work from home. And so you need to be intentional as an organization of how you foster culture and collaboration. And so you need to be intentional about carving out time to have some virtual meetings, even if it's to play Pictionary online, that you're building those connections where people have that comfort level with each other to reach out. Being very intentional about opportunities for training. Now, technology is doing a lot for us in terms of being able to, oh, you need some training on this instead of having to wait for this in-person session. Let me send you this five minute video. And so there's some ways that technology can help overcome some of those obstacles of working from home as an example.
Kaitlyn Mattson (19:40):
Absolutely. Yeah. I think technology can solve a lot of problems for people. Kind of curious to hear where you see it being a priority within claims, for example, or other areas.
Rob Evans (19:55):
So there's lots of ways brokers and carriers are using technology more. I can say from a third-party administrator perspective, claims is one of the fastest growing areas for technology adoption and workers'. We're seeing things like these AI powered tools, automation, data analytics, just being increasingly used to flag things like potential coverage issues, detecting fraud or triaging claims for faster resolution.
Kaitlyn Mattson (20:24):
I know it's really hard to predict out these days because things are changing so quickly and technology changes so quickly. But what do you see ahead for the next three months, I think is a safe bet
Rob Evans (20:38):
That the only constant will be change. There's just so many different applications and so many different data sources that you've got to stay on top of being able to integrate different applications versus do you strategically make that decision to, for example, we decided to have our own in-house data science team so that we could be a little more agile in if we need be to shift or pivot to anything happening in the industry or any company or client priorities
Kaitlyn Mattson (21:17):
That makes a difference to have. Anything else that you'd like to share or anything that we didn't talk about that we should have?
Rob Evans (21:26):
Yeah, I think the final things that I'd like to touch on are just that across the board I'm seeing this trend towards, and so more and more senior leadership is connecting the insights from the data analytics and this advances in technology to seeing how that's bringing stronger financial performance and bottom line impact. So it's important for risk management executives to make sure they're partnering with a claims handling organization that is applying the innovative technology and has the expertise from compassionate people to deliver consistent quality service. And speaking of quality, the bold future vision is to continue to leverage technology like data analytics and AI to transparently measure every claim, every day on every concept of quality.
Kaitlyn Mattson (22:29):
Well, thank you so much for sharing your time and your insights with us. Really appreciate it.
Rob Evans (22:34):
Thank you. It was a pleasure.
Kaitlyn Mattson (22:36):
Thank you for listening. Audio production is by Adnan Khan and Anna Mints. Please rate review and subscribe at dig-in.com/subscribe. I'm Kaitlyn Mattson. Have a good one.