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While the U.S. economy has been in a serious slump during the past few years, one business sector -- health care -- has experienced no such decline.

In the risk management and claims world, the more an organization can reduce the total cost of risk, the better.

There are many strategies to ensure injured workers are receiving the best, most cost-effective medical care in a workers' compensation case.

Effectively managing inland marine and heavy equipment claims requires a unique combination of mechanical aptitude and insurance knowledge. Often, the damages involved can exceed six figures, amplifying the potential for loss leakage if the appropriate actions aren't taken. In addition, a high level of communication with all of the involved parties is paramount to success.

It's no secret that prescription drug spending represents a disproportionately high percentage of workers' compensation costs.

As businesses wrestle with increasing workers' compensation claim costs, medical expenses continue to be a key driver of those costs. According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. (NCCI), medical services today constitute almost 60 percent of workers' compensation claim costs, up from about 40 percent in the early 1980s. Another cost driver over the last few years has been increased time away from work emerging with the recent recession and continuing with the sluggish economy and high unemployment.

It would be nice if workers' compensation payors could gaze into a crystal ball to predict the riskiest and most expensive pharmacy claims. With that type of magic, payors could intervene on these claims sooner -- saving money and improving outcomes for injured workers. Of course, that's the dream, not the reality. Or is it?

When it comes to insurance coverage, it's been said many times that buying on price alone often can be a risky proposition. Due to its global nature, when the coverage is marine cargo, the risk is even higher.

Crisis Management insurance products including Product Recall and Contaminated Products Insurance (CPI) are relatively new lines of business within the insurance industry. In fact, it has only been 30 years since the infamous Tylenol product tampering scare almost single-handedly launched the product recall insurance business overnight. Today there is no denying the critical role the coverage plays in the global marketplace.

Flexible risk finance options help contractors better manage costs.

When the U.S. military moved into Afghanistan in 2001 and followed that up with Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, those two military events triggered a dramatic expansion of an insurance product created back in 1941 -- Defense Base Act (DBA) coverage.

While the recent recession spared almost no market segment of the global economy, public entities in the U.S. have suffered more than most. Tightened budgets in education, cutbacks in spending for first responder organizations, reduced tax income for municipalities...add it all up, and it can mean a very stressful operating environment for a variety of public entities.

Wildfires used to be seasonal. They also used to be regional, pretty much limited to the more fire-prone areas of the country. Today, wildfires no longer have either characteristic--and that's not a good thing.

When people talk about America's healthcare crisis, the focus is typically on costs. Why not? After all, healthcare's pricey tab for Americans is an estimated $2.5 trillion a year.

The discussion, debate and dissection of opioid use and abuse within workers' compensation can only be described as voluminous. Articles have been written, numerous studies have been published and warnings have been issued. Dire statistics related to opioid abuse have continued to pile up over the past several years.