Overview
Puget Sound Workers’ Compensation Trust (PSWCT), operating under the auspices of Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD), is an intergovernmental risk pool formed under State of Washington legislation allowing for joint pooling of resources to address workers’ compensation risks among school districts. Established in 1984, PSWCT is the largest program of its kind in the State of Washington, insuring 33 school districts and PSESD, and collectively representing 55 million worker hours and a payroll of more than $3 billion. With the goal of improving school district workplace safety and reducing job-related injuries and illnesses, and their associated costs, school district members share in the savings and costs derived from the Trust’s activities.
Services
PSWCT offers a comprehensive, customer-centric approach to workers’ compensation risk management. Guided by the mantra that the best claim is the one that never occurs, PSWCT invests prudently in human capital, programs, and technology to assist our school district clients with injury and illness prevention. Should an injury occur, PSWCT possesses the technology to expedite the prompt reporting of claims with our 24/7 online reporting capability.
Reported claims are quickly triaged and work flowed to the designated adjuster for the associated school district. This method allows for claims to be handled quickly and efficiently by the adjuster with specific knowledge of that school district’s unique factors. Claims meeting internally-developed criteria for escalation to complex status are routed to the designated complex claims adjuster. Claims with potential for litigation are co-managed by the designated adjuster and our internal litigation attorney. This business model minimizes our school districts’ total cost of pooled workers’ compensation risk while maximizing injured worker outcomes
Expertise
Our adjusters are among the most jurisdictionally-knowledgeable in the industry with a combined 163 years of workers’ compensation claims handling experience and an average of 16 years of workers’ compensation claims handling expertise. While only a single adjuster certification within a claims handling organization is required by the State of Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries, we require all of our adjusters to obtain and maintain such certification. And because PSWCT specializes in only the K-12 education industry sector, our adjusters have developed expertise in that space handling the specific types of claims our school districts experience. Our adjusters, with an understanding of each school district’s unique concerns, are able to tailor claims handling strategies for maximum effectiveness.