July 10, 2019
Most insurance carriers have great websites to assist with safety and loss control. In fact, our team at Thomas McGee uses information from those websites on a regular basis to supplement the plans we develop for our clients. However, safety and loss control goes beyond what can be found on a website. When you are in need of assistance with specific programs or training and the carrier directs you to their website, you can (and should) ask for more.
Statutes in some states require that insurance carriers provide accident prevention programs and/or comprehensive safety engineering and management service programs upon request by the covered employer. These services can include surveys, training programs, analyses of accident causes, and industrial hygiene services. The requirements for carriers to assist employers with safety services go beyond conducting surveys and submitting recommendations. Although you may not realize it, you are paying for these services. Each carrier has a certain percentage of your insurance premium earmarked for risk management or loss control services. This portion of the premium is non-negotiable, so if you don’t use it, you lose it.
How do you get your carrier to provide meaningful safety and loss control services beyond simply a direction to their website? We suggest thinking about the hazards or regulatory requirements you face in your business that might be outside of your expertise. Do you have specific training needs based on your work operations? Do you need industrial hygiene assistance such as noise surveys or air monitoring? Would you benefit from loss analyses and graphs to identify possible trends? Do you need assistance with setting up or reviewing your DOT files? If you start thinking of your insurance carrier loss control representative as a safety consultant for your company, you will start reaping the benefits of more meaningful services. These services will be beyond the typical job site/facility visit followed by a written report with semi-helpful recommendations.
Our goal at Thomas McGee is to make certain quality carrier Loss Control services are engaged, and to supplement those services with our expertise. All of this is aimed toward our mission: to make our clients stronger.
By: Travis Bennett, Director of Loss Control
Category: Commercial Insurance, Safety and Loss Control
