Far too often, the insurance agent's role in workers' compensation has been viewed only as a means of obtaining mandatory workers' compensation coverage for the Florida employer. When an accident occurs on-the-job, the only personal contact that an employer has with the case is with the insurance agent and far too often, the agent's advice to his customer is to call the claims office for the insurance company. For the true professional insurance agent who really is concerned about his customer's interest, whether it be pricing of premiums payable, types of coverages, prevention of accidents, or handling of claims or just providing much needed general advice to the employer, simply referring the employer to the insurance company provides a great dis-service and oftentimes adds costs to the ultimate liability of the employer.

This year's focus at the Annual Workers' Compensation Conference sponsored by the Workers' Compensation Institute in Orlando, Florida (August 6-9, 2017, see complete program at  www.wci360.com) is to present two days of breakout sessions for agents/brokers emphasizing the insurance agent's primary position in making any workers' compensation system work. In partnership with the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) and the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA), this year's agent/broker breakouts will focus on subjects not ordinarily discussed in training sessions for this important segment of the workers' compensation community. Agents/brokers should understand that they do play a very significant role in the workers' compensation system other than simply referring their customers to their insurance company. What exactly is the role of the agent/broker in claims handling? What does the claims handler depend upon the agent to do and what role can the agent play in assisting in the defense of a claim? What role should the agent not assume? Oftentimes, the "typical" reaction by an agent once a claim is filed is to do nothing, not knowing what would be helpful. Read more.