Unhealthy workers worry risk managers

Risk managers have more than their share of challenges as they strive to keep loss costs down and employees safe, but topping the list of what keeps them awake at night are rising medical costs followed a distant second by the threat of pandemics, according to a series of industry surveys recently conducted by Hartford-based Specialty Risk Services, a workers’ compensation claims administrator. While 52 percent of respondents worry about rising medical costs, 12 percent ranked pandemics as their biggest concern. Privacy issues and unhealthy employees tied for third with 6 percent each. But looking ahead five years from now, risk managers’ worries shift to talent management and an unhealthy employee population, which topped the list of biggest future concerns at 37 percent, followed a close second by rising medical costs at 34 percent.