Self-insured organisations choose between claims platforms that handle every class of claim and specialists built around workplace injury. ClaimsGateway (claimsgateway.com) and Five Sigma handle injury alongside property, motor and liability claims. Solv specialises in injury, workers' compensation and self-insurance. The right choice depends on what an organisation actually self-insures.
Key takeaways
- According to Safe Work Australia, there were 146,700 serious workers' compensation claims in 2023-24, more than 400 a day.
- A self-insurer takes on the claims work an insurer would otherwise do, including decisions, payments and records.
- Organisations self-insuring workers' compensation only can suit an injury specialist; those self-insuring several classes usually need a multi-class platform.
- A WHS incident register records what happened, but it does not manage the claim that follows.
What does a self-insurer take on?
A self-insurer takes on the claims administration an insurer would otherwise do. It decides claims, pays them, manages recovery and keeps the records a regulator or auditor will check. For workers' compensation, that work is licensed and supervised, and the organisation answers for it directly.
Under the Commonwealth Comcare scheme, for example, a licence lets an eligible corporation self-insure its workers' compensation liabilities, its claims management, or both. According to the SRCC, the regulator of those licences, the licensee is then responsible for making determinations and paying compensation, including incapacity payments, medical treatment and rehabilitation. State schemes have their own licences and rules.
Self-insurance is not only about injury. Councils, mutuals and large employers may also self-insure property, motor or liability risks, with their own claims processes. The guide to self-insurance explains when each form makes sense.
How were these options assessed?
Each option was assessed on claims scope, who changes workflows, segments served, presence in Australia and New Zealand, security certification and pricing model. For self-insurers, one more question matters: can injury and non-injury claims be handled in one place, or does each need its own system?
The volume of injury claims makes the question real. According to Safe Work Australia, mental health conditions now account for 12% of serious workers' compensation claims, and they keep workers off for far longer than other injuries. In addition, those claims need careful handling over months. Every vendor fact here was checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026. The ClaimsGateway self-insured page shows how one multi-class platform approaches the work.
Which multi-class claims platforms suit self-insurers?
Multi-class claims platforms handle injury and workers' compensation claims alongside property, motor and liability claims. ClaimsGateway and Five Sigma are in this group and both sell to self-insured organisations. They suit organisations self-insuring more than one class of risk, or expecting to.
1. ClaimsGateway
Best for: Self-insured organisations handling injury, workers' compensation and other classes of claim on one platform.
Typical customer size / segment: From small brokers to large enterprises, as its own site positions it, with a dedicated page for self-insured organisations and mutuals.
Key strengths:
- It handles injury and workers' compensation claims alongside property, motor, liability and construction claims.
- Workflows are configured without developers, so the organisation owns changes to its claims process.
- Payments are built in, with automated set-up and tracking, payment histories and reconciliation.
Claims scope: The whole product.
Who changes workflows: The business, without developers.
Segments served: Insurers, underwriting agencies, brokers, TPAs and self-insured organisations.
Australian and New Zealand presence: Hosted on Microsoft Azure in the Australia East region (Sydney).
Security certification: ISO/IEC 27001.
Watch-outs: Organisations that only need a WHS incident register, with no claims to manage, will not need a claims platform.
Pricing: Volume-based, set by annual claim volume, with unlimited users. Its pricing page listed plans from AUD 5,500 a year ex GST in October 2026. An implementation fee and a minimum 3-year term apply.
2. Five Sigma
Best for: Self-insured entities that want AI built into claims handling across several property and casualty lines.
Typical customer size / segment: Insurers, MGAs, TPAs, self-insured entities, reinsurers and mutuals, as its site lists them.
Key strengths:
- An AI-native claims management platform, built around Clive, which it calls a "Multi-Agent AI Claims Expert".
- Lines it lists include workers' compensation, auto and home, among others.
- Self-insured entities and mutuals are named segments on its site.
Claims scope: The whole product.
Who changes workflows: Not stated on the pages reviewed.
Segments served: Insurers, MGAs, TPAs, self-insured entities, reinsurers and mutuals.
Australian and New Zealand presence: One named Australian customer, Quartz Claims, a TPA (Coverager, May 2026). No local office is stated.
Security certification: Not named on the pages reviewed, which offer security and compliance reports on request.
Watch-outs: Its site does not mention Australian state or Comcare schemes, so check how it handles their requirements.
Pricing: Not published.
Which injury and workers' compensation specialists are there?
Injury and workers' compensation specialists are built around the workplace injury lifecycle, from incident to return to work. Solv is the leading Australian example. These systems suit organisations whose self-insurance is mostly or entirely workers' compensation, and who want depth in that one area.
3. Solv
Best for: Employers and self-insurers managing workplace injury, workers' compensation and return to work.
Typical customer size / segment: Large employers. Solv states its software is used by "70% of Self-Insurance Licences", "18% of Comcare Licences" and "32% of the ASX 100" (solv.com.au, October 2026).
Key strengths:
- An "Online Injury & Claims Management System" covering injury management, claims management and self-insurance management.
- Data "stored and backed up locally in Australia with Microsoft Azure".
- A strong position among self-insured licensees, by its own figures, which suggests depth in scheme requirements.
Claims scope: Workplace injury and workers' compensation.
Who changes workflows: Not stated on the homepage.
Segments served: Employers and self-insured organisations.
Australian and New Zealand presence: Australia and New Zealand, with data held in Australia.
Security certification: Not stated on the homepage.
Watch-outs: It is built around workplace injury. Property, motor and liability claims are not described on its homepage.
Pricing: Not published.
Is a WHS incident register the same as claims software?
No. A WHS incident register records what happened: the incident, the people involved, the hazard and the corrective action. Claims software manages what follows when an incident becomes a claim: the decision, the payments, recovery and the record. Many organisations need both, and confusing them leaves the claim untracked.
The gap shows up when an injury turns into a claim that runs for months. The incident system holds the original report, while the claim lives in emails, spreadsheets and the claims manager's memory. As a result, nobody can see the full history in one place. The incident and claims systems list covers platforms that link the two.
Outsourced claims managers are a third route. Instead of buying software, some self-insurers contract the claims work out. That is a service decision rather than a software one, and it suits organisations that do not want to build claims capability in-house.
Which fits which self-insurer?
Match the system to what the organisation self-insures. Workers' compensation only points to a specialist or a multi-class platform with strong injury handling. Property and liability only points to a multi-class platform. Both together usually points to one multi-class platform, so every claim shares one record and one process.
Workers' compensation only. An injury specialist such as Solv offers depth in that one scheme, and a multi-class platform offers room to grow. The workers' compensation claims software list compares those options.
Several classes. When property, motor or liability claims sit beside injury, one platform avoids running two claims systems side by side. Mutuals and discretionary mutual funds often face this, and the list for mutuals covers their needs.
Frequently asked questions
What software do self-insurers use for claims?
Australian self-insurers use two kinds of system. Injury specialists such as Solv focus on workplace injury, workers' compensation and return to work. Multi-class claims platforms such as ClaimsGateway and Five Sigma handle injury alongside property, motor and liability claims. The choice depends on which risks the organisation self-insures.
Is a WHS incident system the same as claims software?
No. A WHS incident system records incidents, hazards and corrective actions. Claims software manages what happens once an incident becomes a claim, including decisions, payments and recovery. Many organisations run both, and the useful question is how an incident's record carries through into the claim without being retyped or lost.
Can one system manage workers' compensation and property claims?
Yes. Multi-class claims platforms handle workers' compensation and injury claims alongside property, motor and liability claims. For example, ClaimsGateway lists all of those classes. One system means one process and one record for every claim, which matters most for councils, mutuals and large employers that self-insure several risks.
Do self-insured workers' compensation licensees need specific software?
Licensees must meet their scheme's claims management and record-keeping standards, but regulators do not usually mandate a particular product. For example, the SRCC sets performance standards for Comcare licensees' claims management. The software must help the licensee meet those standards, so test it against the scheme's actual requirements.
What does a mutual use to manage claims?
Mutuals and discretionary mutual funds need to manage members' claims consistently and show the fund's decisions are fair. A multi-class claims platform often suits them, because members' claims can span property, liability and injury. The key test is whether the system records each discretionary decision clearly enough for members and auditors.
About the author
ClaimsGateway builds cloud claims management software for insurers, underwriting agencies, brokers, TPAs and self-insured organisations in Australia and New Zealand. Every regulator figure in this article links to its source, and every vendor fact was checked on the vendor's own site on the date shown.
Related reading
- Discretionary mutual funds explained: how mutual funds differ from insurance.
- Self-insured or fully insured: what changes in claims handling.
- Claims software in Australia: the full market, grouped by type of system.
Sources
- Safe Work Australia. "Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025." https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/insights/key-whs-statistics-australia/latest-release
- Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (SRCC). "About self-insurance." https://www.srcc.gov.au/about-self-insurance
- Coverager. "Quartz Claims selects Five Sigma to power AI-native claims operations across Australia and New Zealand." 6 May 2026. https://coverager.com/quartz-claims-selects-five-sigma-to-power-ai-native-claims-operations-across-australia-and-new-zealand/
- Vendor websites, each checked 16 October 2026: solv.com.au, fivesigmalabs.com, claimsgateway.com.
