Updated Claims Forms – and Online Reporting – Debut March 1PDRMA is introducing updated claims forms — and piloting an online claims reporting system — next month. Four revised forms will be available on the PDRMA website as of March 1, and three of those forms will be included in the online reporting system currently being tested.
“The new forms, along with the online reporting system, will improve the accuracy of our claims information, create efficiencies throughout the claims process, and help us more easily identify loss causes and trends,” says Eric Hohenstein, PDRMA Claims Supervisor. “It’s been a number of years since we updated our claims forms. We have often had to contact members to get missing information before processing the claim. The new forms will help to reduce that problem.”
There are four updated hard-copy versions of the forms and three of them (Forms 02, 03 and 04) are available for the pilot agencies to submit their claims online:
- Form 01 – Accident/Incident Report
Claims for property and/or bodily injury by patrons or other third parties against an agency.
- Form 02 – Vehicle Accident Report
Claims involving damage to an agency vehicle or damage caused by an agency vehicle.
- Form 03 – Property Loss Report
Claims involving damage, destruction or theft of all types of agency property and contents.
- Form 04 – Employee Injury/Illness Report (Workers’ Compensation)
Claims involving employee injuries or illness.
A pilot group of three agencies — Wheaton, Naperville and Fox Valley Park Districts — is testing the online reporting system, which will be phased in over the next 18 months to members that generate a higher volume of claims annually.
As of Oct. 1, 2013, members submitting claims must provide all the information requested on the updated forms, which are significantly different from previous versions. Each claim submission — whether input at an agency or by PDRMA Claims staff — is entered electronically into PDRMA's claims handling system. Using the updated claims forms, which mirror the online ones, is the best way to ensure you provide PDRMA with the required information.
“This change provides members with a seven-month transition period, beginning March 1 when the forms are available on the PDRMA website to download,” says Dane Mall, Risk Management Services Manager. “Agencies can print the new forms and distribute them, making sure the latest versions are available in vehicles and facilities by October so we receive the required information when they submit claims.”
The new forms will be discussed in PDRMA’s Claims Reporting for Supervisors classes throughout 2013 and will be used for the case-study discussions that are part of that course. Two classes are scheduled in the spring and two in the fall of 2013. In addition, PDRMA will host a Claims Reporting and Management Webinar: Hot Topics, Resources and Updates on May 9 at 1 p.m.
To download the new claims forms as of March 1, log in to the PDRMA website and click Claim Forms under Quick Links or enter “Form” in the white search bar at the top of the page. |
