Work-related accidents and sick leave cost the UK government and businesses £23bn per year. R&SA's Robert Fielding reports on the rehabilitation solution
Each week in the UK, one million people report into work sick. Approximately 25,000 leave the labour market each year as a result of work-related accidents. The cost to the UK government and business is a staggering £23bn per year. Compensation claims and the incidence of litigation cases are also on the increase. The NHS is struggling to cope with the sheer quantity of patients requiring outpatient care for acute problems such as musculoskeletal injuries.
Meanwhile, there are fewer people contributing to the tax system and the greater demands upon both the state welfare and health systems result in overstretched government resources. Insurers too face a large financial cost through claims and compensation, which are in turn aggravated by the aforementioned problems in the environment. But what can be done to alleviate these issues that all insurers face?
In this situation of overstretched resources and social change, insurers must take action to protect themselves and their existing and future customers. Rehabilitation is one way of ensuring cost control for all involved. Through minimising compensation and reducing the likelihood of fraudulent claims, in the long term, rehabilitation can help to restrain rising premiums. It offers a practical solution to an individual's situation, getting them back to an active life more quickly than traditional processes. It also removes some of the burden from the NHS, through utilising private hospital networks for diagnosis, treatments and other therapies.
In order to recognise and implement rehabilitation as an integral part of an insurer's claims management, the organisation must be prepared to take quite radical steps.
Health providers
Rehabilitation is much talked about, but actions in this area are in their infancy.
Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA) set up rehabilitation service Health First more than 18 months ago, to provide a personal injury claims management method. It has not been a simple process. Dedication across the business has been essential in ensuring the service is fully utilised and appropriately implemented within all personal injury claims across R&SA. As a private medical insurer, R&SA has been able to utilise its network of health providers.
Now in its second year the service is continuing to grow. To date, the team of qualified nurses has handled more than 5,000 cases. The team facilitates the care of injured individuals. It co-ordinates the care programmes to ensure individuals receive the necessary care to get them back to an active life. Training within the claims handling teams across all appropriate classes of business ensures all claims handlers understand and identify cases that would respond well to rehabilitation.
Over the last few years rehabilitation has become the `vogue' subject within the insurance industry, with many seeing rehabilitation as the way to reduce claims costs. But, used correctly, the industry has the opportunity to change the perception of insurance in the minds of customers. Rather than seeing insurance as a way to transfer risk, they could see insurance as a vital part of life, practically helping recovery back to an active life. Through taking a proactive approach like rehabilitation, it is not only the car that is fixed but also the body or mind of an injured person.
In the future, we can hope for rehabilitation to play a fundamental role within the claims management process across the industry and accepted by everyone.
Significant impact
And it would not only be offered by insurers, but demanded by claimants and their representatives. Large companies could include it as part of their employee benefit packages.
Working closely with employers and unions, insurers would have a significant impact upon the incidence of accidents in the workplace and helping individuals back to work. Rehabilitation could also be used a risk prevention strategy. Through treating the injured party the insurer understands the needs of the claimant and therefore is better informed when developing protocols for risk prevention in the workplace. The opportunities for the insurance industry to utilise rehabilitation are vast.
An increase in public awareness is crucial to the success of rehabilitation. The public must understand that insurers provide more than a transfer of financial risk - they can also provide practical help to support claimants and policyholders.
Both the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (Apil) and Federation of Insurance Lawyers (Foil) are continuing to promote rehabilitation and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) is also increasing the pressure. But more effort is needed to raise awareness and understanding throughout the industry and beyond. Government too has a role to play in recognising the real value of rehabilitation to the country.
When rehabilitation is embraced across the industry and fully accepted, it will be at its most effective. n
Robert Fielding is head of healthcare and assistance operations, Royal & SunAlliance
