WCB Claims Management — Alberta
WCB claims management refers to the employer's active involvement in managing a WCB-Alberta claim from the moment of injury through to claim closure. Effective claims management reduces claim costs, protects the employer's experience rating, and supports injured worker recovery.
Many Alberta employers treat WCB claims as something that happens to them. Effective employers treat claims management as a proactive process — one that starts before an injury occurs and continues through every stage of the claim. The difference in outcomes — and in WCB premiums — can be substantial.
What claims management involves
Active WCB claims management includes: prompt injury reporting, early contact with the injured worker, offering modified work, communicating with WCB adjudicators, reviewing claim decisions, and objecting to decisions that are incorrect.
Employers have the right to participate in the claims process, provide information to WCB, and object to decisions. Many employers do not exercise these rights — and pay more in premiums as a result.
The link between claims management and experience rating
WCB-Alberta's experience rating system uses a three-year rolling average of claim costs to set employer premiums. Every dollar of claim cost that can be reduced — through modified work, early return to work, or successful claim objections — directly reduces the employer's experience rating and future premiums.
A single poorly managed claim can affect an employer's premiums for three years. A well-managed claim that returns a worker to modified work quickly can cost a fraction of an unmanaged one.
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