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average claim was $450. Roughly 60 cents of every premium dollar goes toward a medical-only claim. The increase in cost in this area of workers' comp is mainly due to pain management. The current system allows a physi- cian to break monthly doses of prescriptions into weekly managed treatment programs, which increases the cost of the prescription portion of a workers' compensation claim. Claim escalation increases the rehabilitation expenses of the injured employee, as well. Currently only two workers' compensation carriers have attempted to stop this practice while the other carriers appear to be content with letting the cost of prescriptions rise and pass- ing along the cost as increased modification factors for your business. Workers' compensation carriers use losses over a four-year period to calculate the current modification of a business' workers' compensation premium. So any increase in the cost of a claim is retained as an increased mod factor by the business for three of the next four years. Third: Voluntary Benefits The final cost driver for workers' compensation is the installation of voluntary benefits provided by the employer to lower the cost of an injured employee's wage reimbursement. Although, the term "voluntary" could become "mandatory," the decrease in workers' compensation cost attributed to less Complete Range of Motors, Controls and Automation for Rolling Shutters Monday-morning, undocumented compensation injuries is driving the evolution of this moneysaving strategy. Workers' Compensation claims that do not involve lost wages are reduced by the lost wages, and the medical portion of the claim is proportionately reduced per state statute. While the rhetoric of the presidential election and the associated cost of employee health care and fines will continue until November, savvy business owners will adjust the variables within their control and use the workers' compensation tools available to increase their company's bottom lines. Don Leggett has been in the insurance industry for 30 years and is currently the managing partner for Insurance Office of America, the seventh largest privately held insurance broker in North America. SIMU-Hz radio solutions offer: Quick and easy installation Ease of use Energy saving benefits SIMU Celebrates 60 Year Anniversary, 1952-2012 www.simu.com PEOPLE IN THE KNOW 2012 / STORM&SEcURITY PROTEcTION 23