When a workplace injury happens, the claim countdown clock starts ticking. Reporting a claim promptly—ideally within hours but no later than three days—can result in more favorable outcomes for the injured employee and lower costs for the employer.

However, unlike larger companies with the processes and people in place to manage workers compensation claims, many small businesses have less experience with workplace injuries and can be unprepared when handling claims.

A delay in reporting a claim can have serious consequences, including an increase in lost work time, higher claim costs and the greater potential for legal action.

Beyond these impacts, a delay can be demoralizing for the injured worker and other employees, who might interpret the lag as their employer not valuing or trusting them.

Help Your Clients Plan for Positive Outcomes

As a thoughtful and trusted agent partner, you've done right by your small commercial clients. You've made sure they have the right coverage, including workers comp, to protect their business and their employees.

You can further help your clients by encouraging them to adopt the following best practices to help them successfully manage workers comp claims.

• Establish a workers comp claim reporting process. When an injury happens, a detailed, step-by-step claims filing process for supervisors and employees to follow is critical to expedite a claim. The process should include contacting the company's workers comp carrier or third-party administrator immediately to have a claims specialist follow up with the injured employee.
• Educate employees. Share the claims process with employees, which should be readily accessible and updated annually. Advise them of their responsibility to report injuries as soon as possible to initiate a claim.
• Designate a claims contact. Identify an employee to serve as the contact for 24/7 claims reporting and administration. Assign an additional employee to serve as a backup contact. Make sure all employees know who to contact and how to reach them.
  
• Explore tech resources. Check with your insurance carrier to see if they have apps, tools and other digital capabilities that can help you manage your claims.
• Foster a supportive, safety-focused workplace. Sometimes a claim is delayed as the injured employee might fear retribution or termination if they report an incident. Creating a workplace culture that encourages employees to report injuries—and supporting them when accidents do happen—is important to ensure the best outcomes for everyone.
• Learn from the incident. Knowing how and why an injury occurred can help employers put safety measures in place to avoid similar events in the future.
• Check in with the injured employee. Staying in touch with an employee during their recovery process shows that you care about and value them. Work with them to identify stay-at-work or return-to-work opportunities and needed job modifications.

Expedient claims reporting is beneficial for all parties involved. Employees receive the care and treatment they require to return to health and to work, and employers retain knowledgeable, trained employees while minimizing the impact on their business.