Association Improves Risk Reporting Accuracy and Flexibility

Association Improves Risk Reporting Accuracy and Flexibility

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania is a statewide, nonprofit association that represents Pennsylvania's 67 counties. It provides its members with a wide range of services, including insurance pools for liability, workers’ comp, unemployment, risk retention and other insurance programs.

Unable to customize claims reports for analysts and resolve reporting inaccuracies caused by faulty claims data, the association grew disappointed with the service its prior claims management software vendor had provided. The association had also been dissatisfied that its vendor was shifting its development focus from Microsoft to Oracle.

“It was clear we’d no longer be a top priority,” said Dave Harman, claims manager for the association. “After evaluating RFPs with five vendors, we decided that RISKMASTER® Accelerator with Business Analytics would offer us the most functionality, and that CSC would provide the hands-on customer service we were seeking.”

Converting 25 Years of Data

The first order of business was to convert 25 years of claims data over to the new system within a tight 6-month window. CSC collaborated closely with the association’s technical team to expedite the implementation process.

A key focus for the collaborative team: Analyze and correct faulty claims data prior to converting it.

“With our prior system, we’d run two reports that should have given us the same financial numbers at the end, but the numbers were not matching up,” said Harman. “We were able to correct the problem.”

Improving Reporting and Workflow

A key imperative for the association is to keep its insurance rates as low and stable as possible. That requires detailed data analysis that enables informed decision making.

To support informed decisions, Business Analytics, powered by SAP® BusinessObjects™, enables interactive Web access to claims, loss reports and related information.

Limited to canned reports with its prior software system, the association is now able to customize reports as its membership changes and member needs shift.

“Before, we had to do five or six separate reports to present the detailed claims information our members wanted,” said Harman. “Now we run one report with tabs at the bottom that display all the information our members want to see.”

Harman said the association’s adjusters praise the ability to attach email straight from Outlook into the RISKMASTER Accelerator system, the time-saving form-letter templates and the improved workflow automation.

When adjusters needed to make a change in their reserves with the prior claims system, they had to email Harman for approval. Now they need only to complete a worksheet and note the reason for the change, and Harman is automatically prompted.

By taking advantage of RISKMASTER Accelerator’s ability to seamlessly integrate with other systems, the association plans to continue to improve its processes.

“We will soon integrate our accounting software and long-term medical bill repricing systems into RISKMASTER Accelerator, which we were not able to do with our prior system,” said Harman.

Benefiting from World-Class Support

The key to streamlining its claims management system all comes back to customer service.

“CSC was not only willing to support a challenging time frame for the conversion, but they provided extensive support to resolve issues with our billing system and help us understand Business Analytics,” said Harman. “We understood the basics, but CSC assigned a specialist to sit with us and go over the functionality in detail.”

The association’s technical team praises CSC’s willingness to collaborate.

“Our technical experts worked closely with CSC from the beginning,” he said. “They now understand RISKMASTER Accelerator so well they are self-reliant enough to address needs as they arise. This is the level of customer service we were looking for, and CSC continues to deliver.”