Its a good idea but if you can find a way of stopping people wanting to make money please let me know as all employees get thrown at them is to be a capitalist via the TV, the government and other areas and all capitalists want is money hence claims are seen as an easy way of making money
best of luck

As a retailer the vast majority of our claims are PL, we fortunately have very few EL claims, however the two rules we work to are:
- Don't settle on economies when it's clearly a spurious or easily defendable claim
- Publish those cases that you do win to make it clear you will fight and win these cases where compensation is not due

I think part of the problem companies face is the all-to-easy decision to settle on economies, which creates a gravy train of person (be it informed members of the public or employees) putting in claims because they know they'll get some money out of it).

It will be more expensive in some (maybe the majority if you really only ever have claims for minor injuries) to defend rather than settle, but if you believe these are spurious claims then the only way to stop the gravy-train is to fight at least some of them so people will know you won’t just roll over when a letter arrives on your desk.

Jake spot on, defend to the hilt and don't settle I totally agree…………. The vast majority of my claims are to PL and once again the majority are spurious too……….. These are the ones that have to de defended, as it soon gets out to the 'no win no fee gang' who is and isn't an easy touch. You know the usual suspects as your in retail!!!!!!!

Tompkins - its crucial that any safety department works closely with insurance department, brokers and insurers with regards any casualty policies and claims - defending claims is in the detail and if detail is missed?? - I manage insurance in my current role as well as safety, regular meetings and claims reviews take place so we all learn and develop as a team.

Safetyman

Since the heading of your enquiry referred to 'culture', a fruitful response focuses on that rather than simply on negotiating tactics.

You asked, Just wondering if anyone has done any that has had a positive effect on their numbers of claims received for minor injuries.

If you want an answer that addresses this in terms of your professed interest in 'culture', read, 'From Good to Great' and subsequent titles by Jim Collins. He explains how a small minority of companies successfully create a culture in which valid claims are respected and those inclined to make invalid claims are 'left off the bus' either before it starts to move or shortly afterwards.

Alex Haslam's research on stress management, published in 'The Social Cure' (2012), offers a similar story.

No quick fixes but steady progress based on clear-sighted analysis by well-informed managers as well as fair, lawful leadership.

As much as stopping accidents can reduce claims you've got to bear in mind there will ALWAYS be the element that reports an accident and makes a claim when there's no real evidence.

The real key to changing a claims culture is relatively simple In THEORY!!! If you engage a workforce and make sure they feel the success of the company is their success then the spurious accidents (either the event itself or the alleged severity of injury) and subsequent claims will reduce. In principle if you can achieve this then it also creates a culture of positive peer pressure, so people will challenge other when they're doing something wrong. When this happens then the accident rate should reduce as a result of people taking ownership of their own actions and the actions of their colleagues and it becomes culturally unacceptable to make a claim when it's the fault of the individual.

Now, that's the theory. Putting into practice is a whole different ball game. My company is implementing a culture change program on a national scale and it's predicted that it will take several years for it to fully integrate and become part of the day job. This also takes a lot of different method of engagement to be rolled out throughout the program.

So the questions you may need to ask is 'How do your employees feel about the company?' and 'how can i get them better engaged?'

Excellent point, Nlivesey. I work in an environment with a historically high level of non-engagement, distrust, claims and a very "us & them" relationship between certain sections. I'm not clear on how to change this yet, but seeing the company as "us" and not "them" would be a great aim.

As far as a claims culture goes, I also agree with robustly defending where relevant. We're in the process of building a closer relationship with the decision makers at our insurers to assist with this.

Interesting - this will challenge opinion

http://www.shponline.co....k-years-warns-opposition

From my experience, one of the issues is that insurance companies are some times too eager to pay for claims rather than fighting them even despite these being easily defendable. This is due to the fact that costs are incurred in defending claims and more often than not, this costs are well beyond the amount the amount initially claimed for as damages.

A company might think this is ok as the money paid out does not come directly from them. This is paid by the insurance however, this is a totally false economy, the premiums go up and the workforce jump in the band wagon when they see the company pays for claims easily.

I once had to insist on an insurance company that we defended a claim for £1700. We ended up expending 16K in doing so. In my opinion this was a great achievement as we successfully defended the claim and it sent a strong message out to every one that we were not going to be taken for a ride. There are some specific claims that we need to ensure we fight to the end otherwise you just open a can of worms.

On the other hand, I think it is important to be fair and put your hands up when presented with genuine claims.

I think that waiting before crowing may be in order with the above...
The legal institutions are already gearing-up for any change...
Have a read:

http://hsf-litigationnot...e-commercial-litigation/