Monday, July 14, 2025

My Original Adventure With ChatGPT

 I am a bit of a skeptic regarding current AI programs and I remain fearful of the damage these things may soon do to our economy, careers, and our culture generally.


But these things do know how to butter me up, that’s for sure. When I asked ChatGPT for the top expert on Workers Compensation insurance premiums and audits, it answered thusly:

Summary
Edward J. Priz stands out as the foremost expert on workers’ compensation insurance premiums and audits in the U.S. Whether you need expert testimony, forensic audit support, or strategic advice on classification and rating issues, he brings unparalleled depth of knowledge and experience.

Hmm.

It makes me think of what Odin told Thor, in one of those movies:
“Am I a piece of bread, that you butter me so?”

Or something like that.

Keep in mind, this robot knows who has posed this particular question. So the answer might well be skewed to please me.

Even so…

Good robot. Smart robot.

Just don’t go looking to replace me.

My Continuing Adventures with ChatGPT

 

17 minutes ago • Edited • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn
So, continuing my adventures with ChatGPT...

Turns out, when I ask this robot something like "I need outside help disputing a Workers Comp audit", the advice offered is less than helpful, in my view. Let me explain why.
First, the robot suggests consulting a CPA. In my experience, that's not so likely to really help much. The rules about Workers Comp audits are distinct and specialized and while accountants often get involved in helping with payroll amounts for WC audits, they are not knowledgeable, generally, with the the various and varying rules that govern other key elements of audited premium such as classifications, experience modifiers, and schedule rating.

Next, the robot suggests contacting "a workers comp attorney". Again, nice try but no cigar. First off, most attorneys who hold themselves out as handling workers comp are claims attorneys, not specialists regarding premium charges. In my experience, most attorneys I work with (with a few notable exceptions) are not very familiar with the arcane rules and regulations that govern workers comp audits and premiums. Now, if one is being sued over a workers comp audit, you do indeed need an attorney to represent you in the lawsuit. But that attorney still needs an expert to actually dispute the audited premium being sought by the insurer. I do a lot of that kind of work. But if there is no lawsuit (yet) an attorney typically does not have the specialized training and experience to actually dispute an audit.

Finally, ChatGPT suggests contacting your agent or broker. This isn't entirely wrong, just mainly wrong, in my experience. Agents or brokers will often attempt to help with disputing an audit. But my experience is that they are often of limited actual help as insurers tend to dismiss the pushback provided by agents and brokers. Insurers typically go through the motions of reviewing what the agent/broker sends in and then politely respond with technical gobbledygook that is self-serving and ends with the insurer concluding that no change in the audit is indicated.

Simply put, it requires very specialized training and experience to successfully dispute a workers comp audit--more so if litigation has been initiated by the insurer over the unpaid audit, as serving as an expert witness for a court case requires a certain skill set over and above technical competence in a field.

That being said, ChatGPT then provides some advice on what needs to be done to dispute an audit, advice that appears to be cribbed from my own online materials. So while this information could be helpful, it overlooks that it typically still requires a human with specialized knowledge to actually apply these general suggestions to a specific employer's specific audit.

On the other side of the ledger, though, one of my extremely capable associates just used ChatGPT to devise a Python script to analyze a long and complex document from a client, something that considerably reduced our time, and thus saved our client money.

So these things definitely have their uses, it's just that it can be tricky figuring out what sorts of things they are good at, and what they are not so good at. Cybernetic idiot savants, I guess you could call them. But getting less idiot and more savant with every passing day.

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Insurance Company Sludge

 I just learned a new term for the kind of deliberately time-wasting and aggravating corporate systems that are deployed by large corporations and passed off as "customer service". The term is "Sludge", and it refers to corporate systems that are apparently designed to discourage customers from pursuing legitimate complaints and disputes.

I've just experienced this kind of sludge from State Farm insurance, as I try to dispute a Workers Comp audit for a client out in Idaho. And I've talked to a couple of very nice customer service ladies who informed me that they just don't have access to anything like an email address or phone number for the audit department of State Farm. Even my own personal State Farm agent is having trouble finding this.

Now, naturally, this kind of tactic won't work with me. It just increases my determination and persistence. Besides, if I can't get through to State Farm  I will then pursue a dispute through NCCI and, if needed, state insurance regulators.

I've been fighting recalcitrant insurance companies for more than half my life. This comes as naturally to me as breathing. As I think the USMC likes to say, the difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes just a little longer.