By Peggy Benton, Managing Director and Workers’ Compensation Council Leader, U.S. Casualty Practice

In the previous two editions of Marsh Insights: Casualty, we addressed several marketplace drivers that we anticipate will impact the casualty insurance market in 2011. One of the most notable surrounds workers’ compensation (WC), which can account for as much as 70 percent of an organization’s total cost of risk.

We examined developments in the California marketplace—as the nation’s largest in terms of WC premiums and losses it is representative of the broader WC industry—to illustrate the challenges faced by U.S. insureds and the ongoing contradictions between the technical market indicators and the behavior of the trading market. Looking at how the California trading market was affected by technical indicators there, it is clear that organizations must prepare for an eventual shift in the national marketplace.

To help clients address changing market conditions, and to address the myriad of issues in the workers’ compensation arena, Marsh’s Casualty Practice has officially formed the Workers’ Compensation Council. Comprising approximately 40 knowledgeable and enthusiastic casualty professionals across the United States, with experience in a wide range of disciplines, the group was established to focus on the monitoring, analysis, and dissemination of information to clients, and to organizing and focusing the many WC resources within Marsh to benefit our clients. Specifically, the Workers’ Compensation Council will:

• monitor, track, and organize key information from internal and external resources;

• regularly communicate to clients about market trends and drivers that can impact their workers’ compensation programs;

• organize the efforts of various Marsh practices to bring together a coordinated and cohesive workers’ compensation offering; and

• develop workers’ compensation virtual resources to help facilitate the placement of WC programs.

To learn more about how the Workers’ Compensation Council can assist you, contact your local Marsh representative to schedule an appointment.