The Financial Case for Early Intervention
The best risk managers and financial officers don’t just react, they intervene.
When it comes to workers’ compensation claims, early intervention tools, like mediation, are powerful levers for both financial control and human dignity. Here’s why financial officers and risk teams should view early mediation not as a luxury but as a strategic imperative.
First, the cost picture demands attention.
Long-open claims carry compounding expenses:
litigation
discovery
reserve creep
extended indemnity and medical payments
and downstream operational disruption.
Prism Group resolves around 90% of the cases we mediate, helping freeze risk quickly. Industry research also confirms that mediation drives earlier resolution: in one experimental study of 400 WC appeals, cases ordered to mediation were 24.1% resolved by the discovery deadline versus 11.2 % without mediation; and 42.5% settled prior to the scheduled settlement conference versus 28.5% of controls. Imagine the savings in adjuster time, case-management hours, and exposure if more claims were closed early rather than dragged out.
Second, consider how early closure improves forecasting and reserve management.
With mediation, you eliminate many variables:
you reduce exposure to escalating medical costs,
avoid legal escalations,
and minimize post-award surprises.
Our flat-fee mediation model (resolved/unresolved) gives transparency and helps you manage your claims budget with confidence. In a hard workers’ compensation market where medical inflation, aging workforce, and rising catastrophic claims are driving underwriting tension—early resolution is not just prudent, it’s increasingly essential. By intervening early, your organization locks in costs and reduces volatility, which strengthens both the P&L and the balance sheet.
Third, beyond the ledger, there’s the human element that matters most to us at Prism.
mediation day at our office, Claris Pointe
Every workers’ comp claim is a person whose livelihood, health, and family depend on the outcome. At Prism Group, we describe mediation as “people-first, cost-effective, and respectful”. When you sit people down in a collaborative setting, you build trust, prevent adversarial escalation, and help all parties feel heard. This doesn’t just mean better outcomes for the claimant—it means fewer morale issues, better employer-employee relationships, less reputational risk, and sometimes faster return to work or closure. When employees feel respected and supported, you reduce indirect costs—lost productivity, absenteeism, and hidden cultural drag. A resolution sooner rather than later serves both the human and financial side of the ledger.
Fourth, risk managers and CFOs should recognise the asymmetry between cost accumulation and cost control.
Once a claim enters protracted discovery, litigation, or arbitration, expenses escalate—not linearly, but often exponentially. Mediation, particularly early in the lifecycle, flips that script: it brings multiple stakeholders together, sets a clear path to closure, and avoids the “dragging tail” of treatments, hearings, appeals, and unpredictability. Studies show mediation reduces service of discovery filings and shortens time-to-disposition. By taking control sooner with a process like ours, you shrink the “runaway cost” risk. It is a strategic move: risk mitigation, cash-flow improvement, margin protection.
If you’re a risk manager or financial officer asking “What do we do next?”, our inboxes are open and phones are on.
At Prism Group we’ve mediated over 8,000 cases and achieved a 90% settlement rate. That kind of experience demonstrates this isn’t an experiment, it’s a proven strategy. Let’s talk about how we can make it work for your organization.