Crawford & Co.’s Claims Advantage Reduces Cost, Severity of Workers’ Compensation Claims

A new proprietary web-based application that incorporates structured interviews into the workers’ compensation claims process has been introduced by Crawford & Company of Atlanta.

Crawford Claims Advantage applies internationally recognized evidence-based research to identify specific risk factors that directly impact the recovery process and formulates a best-practices approach for medical treatment customized to the injured worker.

Once the interview process is complete, Crawford Claims Advantage will detect any underlying issues that may contribute to the duration and cost of the claim which will allow the adjuster will formulate a strategic action plan to address the issues in a timely manner. Crawford Claims Advantage will also identify certain issues which may require additional services such as investigation, medical case management, or vocational case management.

Crawford Claims Advantage was developed by Crawford & Company in conjunction with e-Triage, an international technology company. Crawford successfully field tested Crawford Claims Advantage in Houston, Texas and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

“Crawford Claims Advantage provides an objective means to identify from the beginning the 20 percent of claims that account for 80 percent of all workers’ compensation costs,” said Bob Kulbick, senior vice president of Crawford’s Risk Management Services. “This new proprietary system will ensure consistency in the handling of workers’ compensation claims and will give us an unparalleled advantage in the marketplace. We expect to see significant reductions in both costs and claims duration for our corporate clients.”

“The opportunity to apply objective criteria to identify those cases that can benefit from case management is significant,” said Larry Mattingly, senior vice president of Crawford’s Healthcare Management Services. “Rather than subjective assignments, our case managers will intervene on the right cases at the right time. Phase two of our association with e-Triage will incorporate the evidence based research into our case management process, providing an objective means of measuring improvement as a result of the services provided.”

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Crawford & Company is a large independent provider of claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities, with a global network of more than 700 offices in 63 countries.