In order to respond to the challenges brought by the coronavirus (COVID-19), insurance and care provider iCare has announced that it is adjusting the delivery of its services to support injured workers.
Over the next few months, iCare said it will continue to deliver its services, pay out injured workers, receive claims, respond to calls to address queries, and remain accessible to employers seeking to support – but all in accordance with the advice of the NSW government and health experts.
“Our offices will remain open, however, we have migrated the majority of our staff to working from home or remote working arrangements, utilising our system capability and our partners' infrastructure in managing this change,” iCare said.
With almost $40 billion in assets, the NSW organisation was confident that its strong financial position will enable it to weather the crisis.
“Over the past four and a half years, our financial base has grown by more than $8 billion thanks to a robust capital management strategy,” iCare said. “While financial markets are being severely impacted, this strategy means we do not need to overreact to large-scale movements. That said, our investment returns are already being impacted and premiums will need to promptly adjust to wage changes. We will balance the state of the economy and individual business challenges with long-term financial sustainability.”
iCare acknowledged, however, the challenges it may face along the way as the nature of work changes through this period, including strained access to medical treatment and support.
“We know our health system will likely face impacts it has never seen before,” iCare said. “This means getting people in a position to be able to return to work may require different approaches. We believe our investment in the single-claims platform enables us to gain added oversight over the pattern and nature of injury claims, a capability that did not exist two years ago. We are confident this provides us the agility to manage remote working effectively to get the care and support to those that need it most.”
