U2 and Workers' Comp?

My wife and I had the opportunity last weekend, after a two year wait, to finally attend the rescheduled U2 concert at Invesco Field. The two year wait was necessitated by the band's lead singer, Bono, injuring his back mid-tour before playing in Denver. For those of you who were there you'd probably agree it was well worth the wait. My wife, who is even more of a fan than I, was doubly ecstatic because she got to meet Bono when the band got out of their vehicle to sign autographs and chat up the crowd by the south stadium entrance prior to the show.

We had arrived early and were in our seats well before the opening act, The Fray, was set to perform. I guess I've worked at Pinnacol too long, but as I sat there looking at the stadium and the amazing stage I started thinking about how much work it takes to put on an event like this. Not just the amount of physical and mental effort, but the number of skills (in insurance lingo: job classifications) as well.

From the folks you see at every similar event - ticket takers, food and beverage vendors, ushers, security - to more specialized jobs like stage setup, lighting, choreographers, and even guitar tuning, the work being done all involves some level of risk of injury on the job. I'm not sure if Pinnacol was covering any of the workers' comp aspects for this particular concert but day in and day out our underwriters have to assess such risk and that can be very challenging.  By the way, the coolest job I saw, short of actually being a member of the band, were the folks running the lighting that were hoisted by cables, just before the show started, way up into the four legs of the 'alien spacecraft' that the stage was supposed to represent. They also had the best seats in the house!

Just before U2 took the stage the scrolling screen, which was displaying all sorts of factoids, told the crowd that the height of the stage was 167' tall. I'm sure after the crowds had filtered out after a wonderful spring night in Denver, someone, or many someones, had to climb way up into the stage  to start taking it all down, in reverse of the way they had put it up. I wonder how our underwriters might assess the risks associated with that type of work, but given the breadth and variety of the types of work being done all over Colorado every day, I'm sure they'd take the challenge in stride!

New Opening for Med Pay Liaison!

Pinnacol is looking for an experienced MedPay Liaison to coordinate all facets of medical payment activity between the Medical Payment Department and our business teams. This position provides consultative support in the areas of medical bill processing, coding questions and workers’ compensation regulations including the administration of the fee schedule while facilitating the resolution of bill issues between adjusters, provider relations staff and the bill processors. The MedPay Liaison is also responsible for performing individual bill processor audits to ensure that accuracy and consistency of bill payment is achieved. This position requires a comprehensive knowledge of all codes, medical payment procedures, and medical terminology along with knowledge of bill processing systems and workers’ compensation rules and procedures.  Candidates must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and 2 years related experience in medical bill processing. If interested, please submit an expression of interest via our company website at www.pinnacol.com/careers.

New Opening in Customer Service!

We are currently looking for customer oriented support staff to join our customer service team. Our Customer Service Representatives provide answers to customer questions via phone, internet, fax, and mail.

While not your typical large call center environment (our representatives typically handle between 60-100 calls a day with average talk times of 2-3 minutes) we are looking for candidates who do have some call center experience along with strong PC/software skills, and excellent communication and outstanding customer service skills. Bilingual in English and Spanish is always a plus. This is a great position by which to join Pinnacol as we routinely promote from this level to positions throughout the company. If you are interested, please complete an expression of interest via our company website.

Pinnacol Issues $41 Million General Dividend



Pinnacol announced yesterday that we will be issuing our seventh consecutive general dividend. This year, $41 million will be distributed to more than 50,000 qualifying businesses — nearly 85 percent of policyholders — throughout the state. The general dividend rewards Pinnacol policyholders who are committed to workplace safety and effective claims management practices. With the 2011 declaration, Pinnacol has returned more than $435 million in general dividends to Colorado businesses since 2005.

“Pinnacol’s ongoing financial stability and strength allow us to return money to our policyholders,” said Ken Ross, Pinnacol president and CEO. “This dividend offers some relief to businesses that continue to feel the pain of the slow economic recovery. We hope it will help create more jobs and provide a boost to the state’s business climate. We applaud our policyholders for their continued commitment to effective claims management and safety practices and thank them for their business and continued support.”

This year’s dividend is based on policyholder performance between June 2009 – June 2010. Dividend checks are calculated based on the size of a policyholder’s annual premium compared with claims costs. Pinnacol’s policyholders represent the full spectrum of Colorado’s industries, including construction, manufacturing, high-tech, transportation, and agriculture.

Pinnacol provides a variety of free resources to help policyholders manage their workers’ compensation policies including a team of 27 loss prevention experts, experienced return-to-work specialists and nurse case managers, a fraud investigation unit and a wide range of training opportunities.

On My Own Time Art Show

During the work week here at Pinnacol we’re underwriters and claims representatives, nurses and accountants, software developers and safety consultants and all sorts of other roles all dedicated to providing the best service possible to our customers. In our private time we’re also photographers, quilters, artists, sketchers, and sculptors.

For the past several years our company has participated in the On My Own Time Employee Art Exhibition through the Colorado Committee for the Arts. Now in it’s 19th year the Exhibition is a biennial program designed to acknowledge the creative talents of employees of companies around the state. Each participating company hosts an exhibition of artwork that employees and their families have created on their own time. The artwork is judged by a panel  of art professionals, but as with most things artistic the real reward is in the creation of the art itself. Here are just a couple of examples of some of the artwork  created by our employees…

"Mesa Arch" by Debbie, one of our Field Auditors

"Lake Louise, Alberta CA" by Tom, one of our software developers

"Tiger In the Mist" by Lorin, the daughter of one of our HR Staff

"These Are Men" by Ryan, a member of our communications team

"Humming Around" by Ellen, one of our Safety Consultants

As you are out and about at local businesses keep an eye out for exhibits of their employees works of art. As demonstrated by these Colorado artists, our state has a wealth of talent that extends far beyond the everyday world of work!