As CEO of Colorado’s leading workers’ compensation insurance company, I’m taken aback when people go out of their way to share something nice. Often it’s an injured worker or family member who feels compelled to let me know how well a Pinnacol Assurance employee took care of them.

A Culture of Compassion
In this day and age, “compassionate insurer” sounds like an oxymoron. But that’s what injured workers Tom Young, Jandale Carter and Harley Bowers will tell you about Pinnacol. And they are not alone.
 
In a recent survey, fully 80 percent of injured-worker respondents were satisfied with Pinnacol’s overall handling of their claims. Within that category, injured workers reserved their highest marks for “being treated with respect and courtesy.”

One thing that surprises injured workers is the frequency of our phone calls, to learn how the latest doctor’s appointment went, to find out how that new medication is being tolerated, or just to ask how they’re getting along. 

We thrive on making a difference. So I suppose it’s natural that we look for ways to help in the larger community too. In 2009, 93 percent of our employees spent time volunteering.

The Pinnacol Foundation makes a big impact, too, by providing college scholarships to the children of Colorado workers seriously injured or killed on the job — regardless of which carrier handled the parent’s claim. In 2009, the Foundation surpassed the $1 million mark in grants to help kids realize their dreams of a college education.  

Improving the Pinnacol Experience
Being a leader means you never stop reaching; there’s always room for improvement. In 2009, we developed two important initiatives aimed at enhancing our stakeholders’ experience with Pinnacol:

Our Health Risk Management Study includes a worksite wellness program that helps employees become healthier. This study seeks to prove the link between wellness and lower workers' comp costs for employers. Our goal is to enroll 30,000 Colorado employees in our program over the next five years.

The Clinic Performance Initiative will begin measuring Pinnacol-contracted medical clinics in areas crucial to the injured worker experience. These measurements will help make sure that injured workers are being treated at clean, organized clinics by friendly, competent, professionals who provide good care, schedule appointments in a timely manner and file the right paperwork.

Also in 2010, we distributed another general dividend and reduced rates. We also
welcomed four new members to the Pinnacol Board, including a doctor, an insurance
agent, a management expert and a union official, whose perspectives will nicely round
out our existing board.

Through the Eyes of Injured Workers and Their Families
What gives us peace is knowing that the people who know Pinnacol best — workers with serious injuries or permanent disabilities, and the surviving family members of workers killed on the job — are those who value us most.

The rest of this report offers an intensely personal glimpse into the lives of three Coloradans who were affected by workplace injuries and counted on Pinnacol in the days, months and years that followed.

I have a deep respect for the fortitude of these injured workers and, equally so, for the individual Pinnacol team members who have journeyed with them on the road to recovery. Thanks, all of you, for sharing your stories with us.