Workers Compensation Service: Travelers Cos. Inc.

Workers Compensation Expertise: Travelers Cos. Inc., Liberty Mutual Insurance

Workers Compensation OVERALL: Travelers Cos. Inc.

Deep expertise in managing workers compensation claims for optimal outcomes and top-level customer service don't just happen by accident, said Vincent Armentano, The Travelers Cos. Inc.'s senior vice president of business insurance claim.

And Mr. Armentano should know: Hartford, Conn.-based Travelers has won Business Insurance's 2013 Buyers Choice Awards for service and expertise, two attributes risk managers say they desire most from their workers comp insurer. Travelers also was the overall winner in the workers comp insurer category, based on buyers' preference for the company's service and expertise.

Travelers invests heavily in adjuster and nurse case manager training, doesn't consider claims to be commodities that can all be treated the same, and focuses on helping injured workers, Mr. Armentano says.

“We start by looking at (workers comp claims) outcomes,” he said. “We don't believe a claim is a commodity. We don't think they all have the same outcome. We really think (management of) a claim can make a difference on loss costs. That is our core belief.”

So over the years, Travelers has invested in services such as a “smart team” of employees who delve into medical billing efficacy to find expense reductions beyond those generated through electronic bill review measures, Mr. Armentano said.

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“We try to maximize (cost reduction services) in every area,” Mr. Armentano said. For instance, the insurer's pharmacists help customers through various measures, such as analyzing how group health plans have succeeded in reducing pharmacy costs.

But the pharmacy expense reduction efforts don't stop there. Travelers also has led lobbying efforts to reduce the profitability in doctor dispensing of pharmaceuticals, he said.

“There is not one magical answer” to improving claims outcomes, so the insurer's services include integrating claims adjuster and nurse case managers' joint “ownership” of certain claims, he said.

As for expertise, Mr. Armentano said Travelers invests tens of millions of dollars in a Windsor, Conn., training facility for adjusters and nurse case managers. And the company's employee retention efforts mean its adjusters have many years of experience.

The efforts help assure that customers receive consistent service no matter the office location with which they interact, he said.

“When I talk to our customers, it's the consistency of the deep expertise across all our claim and nurse professionals” that they like. “Regardless of who gets their claim or what office they are dealing with, they get very similar results,” he said.