Moore: Google Play Store and My Annual Search for Work Comp Apps — Not Good

Friday, December 23, 2016 | 0

The Google Play Store (where Android Apps live) was my last hope for a humongous leap in my continuous search for technology in workers' comp. Once again, as expected, I was more than disappointed.

James Moore

Semi-rant alert!

I decided to have my third cup of coffee (do not tell my doctor) for the day and to jump down the rabbit hole again into the wonderland — better known as app land, not Lapland — the home of reindeer.

My two searches for workers' comp Android apps and, yes, even in the Apple iTunes Store, left me wanting or repulsed — glass half full or half empty.

Follow the two links if you dare. Read the headline on this one if you do not wish to follow the path of my trek to disappointment. There are no new workers' comp apps in either of the largest repositories for apps on earth.

Surprisingly, at the NWCDC Conference a few weeks ago, I did find two advances in WC technology. They were both medical device companies.   

By the way, a big shout out to IWalkFree. The lady was breaking down her display at the NWCDC, and took my name and email address on a Post-it and actually got back with me within a week. Wow, now that is great marketing. I have now mentioned the company three times in this very popular WC blog and all she did was take my email address down and get back with me.

Speaking of marketing, when I mentioned my conundrum to some of the NWCDC vendors (the ones with the signs hanging from the ceiling) about apps, I was told that the apps can be found on their respective websites. If you have an  app and want to market your business, why not put the app on the Google Play Store and iTunes as a way to market to millions of people a day? Excuse, me I was on the edge of a rant — I warned you. 

The two good apps from the previous searches were the NCCI Coverage Verification and Sedgwick James' app. Other than that, I am still waiting on a good workers' comp app that is available to the public. Employers Mutual Casualty and CorVel had apps that performed fairly well in 2015. 

If I missed an app on either one of the app stores, please point them out. If you are a marketer for a workers' comp-related company, please send me a link to your app. I would love to see it. You may possibly want to upload it to ITunes or the Google Play Store.

This blog post is provided by James Moore, AIC, MBA, ChFC, ARM, and is republished with permission from J&L Risk Management Consultants. Visit the full website at www.cutcompcosts.com.