AASCIF - april-may-june03 From the AASCIF president

Changes in the economy typically correlate strongly with shifts in workers’ compensation trends. The incidence and cost of injuries change with underlying economic forces. So does investment risk and performance, another important part of the insuring equation.

For organizations insuring workers’ compensation, staying attuned to the changes and managing ahead for them is the objective and the challenge. It’s key to our serving employers and injured employees with excellence, through good economic times and bad. This, for us, is a shared mission and another reason to share ideas on how to manage—even lead!—successfully for the changes we encounter and anticipate.

Changes in the economy have brought sharp reversals to the financial fortunes of government in the home jurisdictions of many of us, adding another dimension to our leadership challenges at home. Faced with serious fiscal issues, governments are looking in a lot of places, including state fund organizations or other segments of the workers’ comp system, for a way out of their problems. Many of the solutions our governments are considering have a “quick fix” look about them. But with government fiscal issues all too real, our member organizations are rising to the challenge of managing for these economy-driven changing forces as well.

We’re an organization that supports state funds as long-term contributors to successfully address workers’ compensation issues and changes. Short-sighted quick fixes rarely work in workers’ comp. They’re not likely to work well long term for the fiscal issues our home jurisdictions may be facing either. But helping to find longer-term solutions for these is another
challenge to test our leadership mettle. Our members have shown readiness to help one another with shared experiences on this front as well.

Add to this expanding array of issues the likely changes from higher risk exposures newer to all of us—terrorism, for example—and other issues that have developed at a federal level.

These changes have meant expansion in the ways AASCIF serves its member organizations. Idea and information sharing for common interests in operational improvements remains our staple. Member funds are accustomed to public affairs issues at the state level and demonstrate the agility in this arena that earns them leadership roles at home. Networking among our members for information and strategies we can use in our home jurisdictions continues to be valuable in keeping that agility.

But AASCIF members have also had many more common public affairs issues at the national level in the U.S. recently than in past years. Developing mechanisms for comparable agility in our collective efforts beyond our individual borders is newer territory for AASCIF. For a volunteer organization whose members’ interests though similar are not identical, this is not a small challenge.

Thanks to the talents and perseverance of key volunteers from some of our member funds, plus key support from AASCIF members, we’ve done well in this public affairs arena that is a newer one for our organization. Our success in helping get the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act moving and enacted with protections for state funds was not a small victory. Our opposition to broad-brush limits on state funds via NCOIL is also making an impact.

More complex issues at home and newer ones beyond our borders bring change and new demands on our resourcefulness. There are also new demands on our relationships as members. I’m counting on the same level of resourcefulness in figuring out how we come together on the issues and interests we share, fully aware of the differences in how each fund looks to evolve in its own changing environment.