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In years past, employers riding the updrafts of a warming economy watched somewhat passively as their healthcare premiums rose at a pace higher than inflation. Now, with the economy in month 16 of the longest recession since the 1980s, just sitting and watching won't cut it anymore. All options are on the table, but it's too soon to say whether some of them will represent a cost savings in the end.

Admittedly, predictions about the progress and the promise of enterprise risk management often have proven overly optimistic, but there's plenty of evidence to suggest that ERM really has reached an inflection point in its development as more companies and boards push to adopt the strategy as a way to approach risk in a holistic way. Could 2009 truly be a turning point in the development of ERM, or will it be just another year of false starts?

In the United States, about 500,000 injured workers are being treated for chronic pain, workers' comp insurers estimate. Many of these workers, due to the nature of their injuries, have already gone on permanent disability. But the story doesn't quite end there. Every year, in fact, another 50,000 workers are added to the chronic pain patient rolls, according to insurance industry estimates. Chronic pain has become epidemic in the workers' comp arena, a growth industry in the workers' compensation marketplace.

Predictive modeling, fighting fraud and the globalization of the workers' comp industry are making an impact on how carriers and their TPAs are managing claims. In this three-part series, Risk & Insurance examines the most recent trends in each of these areas and the implications for the industry.

With the talent shortage in the insurance and risk management industry, the demand for top-notch education in the field is clearly on the rise--and universities and other training programs are responding.

Bermuda's insurance market has just turned 60. What better way to celebrate than have local-based columnist Roger Crombie chronicle the rise and recent paroxysms of the most dynamic specialty marketplace in the 20th century?

Here begins the Risk & Insurance in-depth series on how Sept. 11 forever altered the workers' comp landscape and eroded the trust implicit between employer and employee.

Risk & Insurance's four-part in-depth series on behavioral risk. Workers' compensation columnist Peter Rousmaniere and other authors uncover just how rampant and relevant behavioral health issues are in the U.S. workplace.

Risk & Insurance's four-part in-depth series on insurance insolvencies. Written by two writers with the insurance consultancy Navigant Consulting, the series explores how insolvency laws and guaranty funds fail in the present but can be reformed for the future.