Scheme Update Brad Parker Director Compensation and Communication WorkCover Tasmania Board This presentation has been prepared for the Actuaries Institute 2013 Injury Schemes Seminar ID: 419707
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "WorkSafe Tasmania" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
WorkSafe TasmaniaScheme Update
Brad Parker
Director Compensation and Communication
©
WorkCover Tasmania Board
This presentation has been prepared for the Actuaries Institute
2013 Injury Schemes
Seminar
.
The Institute Council wishes it to be understood that opinions put forward herein are not necessarily those of the Institute and the Council is not responsible for those opinions.Slide2
Today we will cover
Overview of the Scheme
R
ecent developmentsInsured sector experienceAsbestos Compensation FundWorkCover Tasmania Initiatives
2Slide3
Scheme Overview
In 2012-13:
7 Licensed Insurers
11 Self Insurers
Tasmanian State Service
Total Written Premium $145,000,000
232 000 FTE workers8 400 new claims reported5 500 (or 66%) of claims received weekly benefits
Total claims payments $147 million
Total weekly benefits $49 million
Lump sum benefits $41 million
M
edical and related benefits $46 million
Average claim size $17 500
Average medical and related benefits $5400Slide4
Recent developments
WIMS went live 1 July 2012
Resulted in a higher than usual level of uncertainty in the data for the first six months following implementation. However a number of initial teething problems have now been sorted out with only a small number of issues left to resolve
Primary
Treating Medical Practitioner Role introduced July 2010
Requires
medical professionals to spend more time with injured workers at the initial consultation to ensure claimants are being treated appropriatelyResulted in an increase in above-medical-excess claims, but we think these relate to claimants with more minor injuriesImpairment assessment guides v3 introduced October 2011The intention of the revised Guidelines was to provide clarification on the methodology to be applied in assessing Whole Person Impairment (WPI), but there have been concerns raised by insurers and doctors that the new Guidelines may result in higher WPI assessments, in particularly for injuries involving spinal fusionThe scheme actuaries have allowed for a 4% increase in lump sum costs as a result
4Slide5
Coverage
Wages
increased by 3% in real terms (
i.e. after adjusting for inflationary increases). This is the first real increase in wages since 2009
5Slide6
Total claim numbers
Total claims have reduced over the ten year period shown, with a sizable reduction in the last year
6Slide7
Above excess claim numbers
Above excess claim numbers have
increased over the ten years, with the large increase in 2010/11 attributed to the Primary Treating Medical Practitioner role
The above excess proportion has increased from 60% to 90%
7Slide8
Above excess claim frequency
Above
excess claim frequency
is currently estimated at around 0.80 claims per $m wages
8Slide9
Claim payments
After increasing over the last ten years, weekly benefit payments have reduced a little in the last year (1% lower)
Medical payments have also reduced in 2012/13 (5% lower)
9Slide10
Claim payments (cont’d)
After some stability in lump sum and legal costs, both payment types were considerably higher in 2012/13
Lump sums impacted by some very large payments in the year
There is also a timing impact due to the 2009 amendments
Redemptions delayed due to the two year rule that is only now being reached
10Slide11
Lump sum numbers
The number of redemptions has decreased in the first two years following accident – catch up is now evident
Offsetting this, the number of impairment benefits have increased
Potentially reflects claimants receiving their impairment benefit in advance of the redemption
11Slide12
Premium rates
Suggested premium rates have increased by 4% p.a. since 2010/11 while achieved rates have increased 5% p.a.
Achieved rates remain around 20% below suggested rates
12Slide13
Implications for profitability
While achieved premium rates have increased, the scheme actuaries estimate that insurers (as a whole) continue to make losses on this business
13Slide14
Asbestos Compensation FundSlide15
Asbestos Compensation Fund
Established on 1 October 2011
Insurers, self insurers and the Tasmanian State Service pay a levy of 4
% of premium to pay for the Fund
58
claims
reported since inception34 claims accepted19 ‘new’ claims, 15 ‘backlog’ claims (i.e. diagnosed prior to Scheme commencement)15 claims assessed as less than 10% WPI and therefore not eligible for compensation; these claimants’ diseases may develop such that WPI exceeds 10% in the future6 ineligible for compensation and 3 reported with incomplete informationAbout 2/3rds of accepted claims were ‘fatal’ i.e. mesothelioma and lung cancer
15Slide16
Asbestos Compensation Fund (cont’d)
Just over $10
million
paid by the Fund by 30 June 2013
Almost all of this (98%) is in respect of lump sum payments and funeral benefits
Very little has been paid in medicals or weekly benefits
16Slide17
New WorkSafe Tasmania InitiativesSlide18
Fair and Sustainable Project
The
WorkCover Tasmania Board has initiated a project to define what constitutes a sustainable premium range for fair levels of compensation for workers in the Tasmanian Workers Compensation
Scheme
The Fair and Sustainable Project
,
will assess and make recommendations on: what constitutes a sustainable workers compensation premium range for employers in the Tasmanian Workers Compensation Scheme?what constitutes fair levels of workers compensation for workers in the Tasmanian Workers Compensation Scheme?
what constitutes fair and sustainable workers compensation coverage in the Tasmanian Workers Compensation
Scheme?
what proportion of Tasmania’s Workers Compensation Scheme costs should be paid directly to the
worker
?Slide19
Workplace Bullying in Tasmania
The WorkCover Tasmania Board established
a working group charged with investigating
–
the
prevalence of workplace bullying in Australia and Tasmania
the role of workplace cultures in preventing and responding to bullying the adequacy of existing education and support services to prevent and respond to workplace bullying whether the existing regulatory frameworks provide a sufficient deterrent against workplace bullyingthe most appropriate ways of ensuring bullying culture or behaviours are not transferred from one workplace to
another
possible
improvements to the national evidence base on workplace
bullyingSlide20
Scope of Survey
The
Board commissioned a survey commenced in late August and the survey continues to collect data through September and early into October
.
A three-stage survey methodology is being applied that includes
:
Stage One – Tasmanian Community Bullying SurveyStage Two – Workplace Bullying Depth InterviewsStage Three – Workplace Bullying Organisational Research
It is important to note that
a proportion
of the sample has been collected to date
and
preliminary
findings
are not yet available
.Slide21
New Initiatives to Support Role of
Primary Treating Medical Practitioner
Accredited Medical
P
ractitioners Online
Medical Mentoring and Advisory Service
Medical Practitioner's HandbookSlide22
Accreditation Medical Practitioner Online (AMPO)
Integrated
approach to
management of accredited medical practitioners:
Register
Apply
for accreditationAccess training and reading materials
Complete assessment
Code of
Conduct
Access
a range of resources
Manage
accreditation
Participate
in ad hoc
trainingSlide23
Accreditation Medical Practitioner Online (AMPO)
Training content:
WorkSafe Tasmania and the scheme
Roles and responsibilities of the Primary Treating Medical Practitioner
Certification including case study
Benefits of return to work
Evidence based practiceSlide24
New Medical Practitioner Handbook
Developed by WorkSafe Tasmania in consultation with medical practitioners
Developed for accredited medical practitioners involved in managing patients with a workplace injury or illness
Aims to:
Provide a
holistic and practical understanding of the injury management process & its philosophies
Highlight the role and responsibilities, and those of others involved in the injury management processExplain WorkCover Tasmania’s expectations of the role in the management of patients with a workplace injury or illness.Slide25
Medical Practitioner Handbook
Divided into three main sections:
Preparing for the consultation
Injury management
People involved in the injury management process
During the consultation
Clinical framework principles of injury managementWorkers Compensation Medical CertificatesAssessing the injured workerAfter the consultation
Planning the worker’s treatment and return to work
Other health care professionalsSlide26
WorkSafe TasmaniaScheme Update
Brad Parker
Director Compensation and Communication
©
WorkCover Tasmania Board
This presentation has been prepared for the Actuaries Institute 2013 Injury Schemes Seminar. The Institute Council wishes it to be understood that opinions put forward herein are not necessarily those of the Institute and the Council is not responsible for those opinions.