From paper files and landline phones to the forefront of safety innovations
As we continue to embrace technology and innovation, we must also remain committed to our ultimate goal: sending workers home to their families healthy and safe, every single day.
By Randy Boss, CRM, MWCA, SHRM-SCP
Change seems to have been the only constant in the insurance world over the decades. As we look forward to 2024, I am taken back to my career’s humble beginnings in 1977. It’s astounding to see how technology has reshaped the industry.
Picture a world without fax machines, computers, or cell phones—just paper files, landline phones, face-to-face meetings, and those trusty paper road maps. These were our “tools of the trade” back then.
Suppose you were part of the industry during those days. In that case, you’d likely remember the frantic office moments when everyone searched for a missing file buried somewhere on a colleague’s desk instead of neatly tucked away in the filing cabinets.
Fast forward to today, and it’s a different story altogether. The insurance landscape has undergone a technological revolution. With their impressive capabilities, we have seen electronic files, email, texting and cell phones become our everyday companions.
I recently chatted with a workers comp underwriter who works remotely from their beautiful lakeside home in Northern Michigan. It’s a testament to how technology has transformed our lives and given us the freedom to work from anywhere.
Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work with middle-market companies across various industries, including construction, manufacturing, and healthcare. While involved in countless insurance deals, I’ve always considered myself more of an outsourced risk manager.
My passion lies in helping companies identify gaps in their risk programs and leaving them in a better position than when they started with me.
Risktech introduced
Approximately eight years ago, my sons Josh and Dustin joined me on a mission to elevate our commitment to clients. Together, we founded Emerge Apps, creating software solutions to empower employers to enhance safety within their organizations. Our mission revolves around three core pillars:
- Engage employers. We want to empower employers to involve their employees in safety initiatives actively.
- Root cause analysis. Our goal is to help companies uncover and eliminate the underlying causes that drive up insurance rates.
- Strengthen relationships. We believe in fostering more robust and more meaningful connections between employers and their insurance providers.
While the ultimate beneficiaries of our applications are employers, we decided to make them available exclusively through agents and insurance providers. We understand the pivotal role played by these professionals in the industry and believe that their involvement was crucial for achieving successful outcomes.
Lessons learned
Our journey led us to the “Chain of Safety.”
At its end, we find workers compensation insurance. Here, we focus on caring for injured employees and facilitating their speedy return to work, thus minimizing the financial impact of claims. We create light-duty programs and intervene early after a claim to keep it as a medical-only case.
However, our journey didn’t end there. We discovered a critical early indicator of workers compensation costs—OSHA record-keeping. The number of OSHA recordables directly correlates with the incidence of costly workers compensation claims. One study done by ConocoPhillips, for instance, found that for every 10 OSHA recordables, there was one expensive lost-time claim.
It turns out that OSHA records are the proverbial canary in the coal mine regarding workers comp costs.
This realization took us to the first link in the “Chain of Safety”—workplace safety culture. As Benjamin Franklin wisely stated, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We set out to use technology to help employers create safer work environments and foster a culture of safety.
By the way, I plan to expand this discussion of prevention first and “Chain of Safety” in an upcoming column. So stay tuned!
Joint mission
As an organization, our journey has taken us from the days of paper files and landline phones to the forefront of safety technology. We’re thrilled to share our innovative tools with insurance agents who play a pivotal role in ensuring workplace safety. Together, we can build a safer, more secure future for everyone.
As we continue to embrace technology and innovation, we must also remain committed to our ultimate goal: sending workers home to their families healthy and safe, every single day.
Here’s to a future filled with even more incredible safety and risk management advancements. n
The author
Randy Boss is a Certified Risk Manager at Ottawa Kent based in Jenison, Michigan. In his role as a Risk Manager, Randy specializes in creating and putting into action risk management and insurance strategies for middle-market companies. His expertise covers various aspects, including safety, workers’ compensation, human resources, property and casualty, and benefits. With a wealth of experience spanning over 40 years, Randy brings a seasoned perspective to the field. Randy can be reached at rboss@ottawakent.com.
