Mostly written by Acadia Insurance
As Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The timeless saying is especially relevant for companies searching for ways to reduce insurance premiums. Insurance companies calculate premiums by assessing the risk of certain events happening. For example, insurance companies calculate workers’ compensation insurance premiums based on several risk factors, including type of business, number of employees, and location.
Unfortunately, far too many companies ignore the sage wisdom displayed by Franklin. Instead of taking steps to prevent an event from happening that can increase insurance premiums, they roll the proverbial dice and hope the dice end in a favorable roll. For companies searching for ways to decrease insurance premiums, implementing safety measures can lead to lower insurance costs and a much fatter bottom line.
What Are the Most Common Types of Business Insurance?
Before your company implements safety standards in the workplace, what are the most common types of business insurance? Property and business interruption insurance can protect your company from risks such as hail, wind, fire, and flood damage by providing coverage for property damage and lost income resulting from a covered peril. Liability insurance can protect against a variety of potential liability exposures, including items such as premises liability (e.g. slip and fall injuries), product liability, and automobile liability. Workers’ compensation insurance protects your company if an employee is injured on the job. Specialty insurance coverage, such as inland marine insurance, can protect against property damage not typically covered by a traditional property insurance policy, such as buildings under construction and company tools and equipment.
How Can My Company Improve Safety in the Workplace?
A company’s loss history is factored into the cost of insurance, so generally, the more workplace accidents your company experiences, the higher you can expect to pay for insurance. Let’s review a few helpful tips to improve the overall safety of your workplace.
Get OSHA Involved
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the federal government agency that creates workplace safety standards. Instead of waiting for OSHA to respond to a workplace accident, contact the agency to schedule a safety training seminar. OSHA welcomes invitations from companies operating in the private sector to deliver the latest and most advanced tips to enhance workplace safety.
Ongoing Training
Because OSHA safety training sessions occur infrequently, such as one time an operating quarter, your company can fill in the voids by providing ongoing safety training for both employees and independent contractors. Ongoing training can consist of sending employees webinars conducted by OSHA safety experts that employees can watch. Brief daily meetings can include one or more safety tips that address common causes of workplace accidents.
Encourage Feedback
You should have an open-door policy when it comes to safety in the workplace. Encourage employees to provide feedback on the success of recently implemented safety procedures and ask workers to speak up whenever they notice a safety violation. Listening to the members of your team exemplifies Franklin’s saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Consider appointing employees to a safety committee that meets regularly to discuss prominent safety issues and the steps recommended to address them.
Perform Safety Audits
Safety audits can identify the high-risk areas of your business where accidents are most likely to unfold. Regularly scheduled audits, such as at the end of every workweek, provide management with information pertaining to the potential safety risks. For example, a restaurant can complete a safety audit once a week, with a focus on preventing burns, as well as slip and fall incidents.
Invest in Safety
Preventing accidents in the workplace involves making a healthy financial investment to ensure your company has the tools to create a safe workplace. From buying “Wet Floor” signs to upgrading instructional videos that discuss the use of chemicals, you can improve overall safety by spending money wisely. An investment in safety can pay off in the long term with lower insurance premiums and fewer fines administered by OSHA. Investing in the most advanced fire alarm system and a high-tech automatic sprinkler system can lower the premiums your company pays for fire insurance coverage.
Make Workplace Safety a Priority
When it comes to workplace safety, you must do much more than talk the talk. You also must walk the walk by making workplace safety a priority for every employee. From emphasizing the
importance of using protective gear on the job discussing what to do in the event of an emergency, and letting the members of your team know about the importance of safety should improve your overall safety record.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line concerning workplace safety is that by making workplace safety a priority, your company can improve its bottom line by reducing insurance premiums. Encouraging feedback, investing in safety, and conducting ongoing training demonstrate your company’s commitment to improving safety in the workplace.
There for You: Brownell Insurance Center and Acadia Insurance
At Brownell Insurance Center Inc, we’re all about helping businesses throughout New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine thrive. Our mission is to provide superior service and product in your neighborhood thus providing you with the backing you need to proceed with confidence.
We understand what you want most from your insurance is security and peace of mind.
That means knowing you have insurance experts at Brownell Insurance Center and a versatile insurance company to support you every step of the way to help you protect your business. With Brownell Insurance Center Inc, not only can you get coverage tailored to your needs, but you will also receive support from us to guide you through the claim process in the event of a loss. That way, you know exactly what to expect.