Hiring the right third-party administrator (TPA) to handle an organization's claims, and then working with the vendor in a productive partnership are two of the most critical responsibilities many risk managers face.

The first step in any successful TPA relationship is for risk managers to do some serious due diligence in order to ensure they're contracting with a reliable partner. That begins with a thorough self-assessment of the organization's own needs.

When Dale Lindstrom, risk manager at energy company Vestas Wind Technologies, was scouting a few years ago for a new claims administrator (with help from his broker, Marsh), Lindstrom's TPA checklist included the vendor's experience level, its approach to claims management, and its having a deep knowledge of the specifics of managing employee health care and workers compensation issues.