Several years ago, the West Virginia workers' compensation process was described as a litigious affair. That was a fancy way of saying that all of us (the state, judges, lawyers, claimants, etc.) were spending a large amount of time involved in an exorbitant number of protests.

An example of this can be seen by going back to 2004. During this year, the Office of Judges received over 26,000 protests from claimants and employers combined. That's more than 2,000 per month!

Jump ahead four years to where we are today. A great deal has changed, including the formation of BrickStreet Insurance and a new approach to adjusting claims. This new approach has been likened to moving from an attitude of processing transactions to an attitude of professional management.

After a great deal of education and dedication, our commitment to claims adjustment is now leading to better decisions. As a result, those decisions are less likely to be challenged. Last year, the Office of Judges received less than 12,000 protests, and they project that they will receive only 8,500 this year. That is less than one-third of the number received merely four years ago!

Good decision making translates into fewer protests. Fewer protests translate into quicker claims resolutions. Quicker claims resolutions translate into quicker return-to-work outcomes and the ability to give better customer service to all of our agents and policyholders.