We know from experience that roofing and gutter contractors of every size will find just about any way they can to save a nickel here and a dime there on every job they do.
It may be on the cost of material, or their labor, or even on the cost of gas to get a truck from customer A to customer B.
But one place they almost never look to save money is the business insurance and the premiums they pay for it to handle liability or loss of property.One of the ways they can save money is to enlist the services of a loss control consultant from their insurance agency or the company that insures them. The loss control consultant will typically work for a property casualty insurance company, a private consultant firm or as an independent consultant. The LCC will survey businesses for property – casualty (general liability, automobile, workers compensation) exposures, identifying exposures to loss and how a business can control these loss exposures. If they find a business deficient in protecting for a loss exposure, recommendations for improvement will be offered. Underwriting information concerning an account’s operation, size, service area and cooperation with the loss control consultant is developed and submitted in a report to the requesting party.
You may be asking yourself why do I need this? Two reasons – If a loss control analyst identifies exposures and you correct them, your monthly insurance premium can be reduced. Second, if a loss control expert does not come in and a building or health inspector finds a potential threat, your business can be temporarily shuttered and it’s going to cost you to fix the problem anyway.
If you’re already paying a monthly premium with a reputable carrier, here are some examples of what can be offered through loss their control program – and remember, it is to their advantage to reduce your risk, minimizing the possibility that they might have to make a payout.
The carrier may help you develop your own safety program using model programs they’ve already developed for customers just like you. The carrier may perform a comprehensive accident analysis and investigation and develop constructive recommendations to improve current safety programs.
The loss control experts can advise on OSHA, NFPA, DOT, and other safety and health requirements and provide assistance in industrial hygiene issues particularly in metal fabrication operations by sampling for industrial noise and air contaminants and advising you.
They can teach your supervisors and crew chiefs about safety and loss control issues and assist with employee safety training and they’ll conduct construction job site safety visits and provide ergonomic surveys and analysis to show how work activities can be performed better.
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If you’re doing fabrication in your own building, they can evaluate property loss potential and provide recommendations to minimize fire, theft, or other threats and they can distribute quality safety literature, do job site and shop talks and provide safety videos, posters, and signs.
Most major carriers offer training videos for every conceivable circumstance. The value is threefold—workers learn how to work properly in a variety of situations. Your monthly insurance premiums can be reduced if you can show they have participated in the training. Your liability can be reduced if a worker who has undergone training, ignores it and is involved in a workplace safety incident. Here are some of the videos and shop talks major carriers currently offer to their insureds.
•Contractor Safety
•Forklift Safety
•Personal Protective Equipment
•Lifting/Back Safety
•General Electrical Safety and Hand & Power Tool Safety
•Machine Guarding
•Fall Protection
•Ladder Safety
•Walking Working Surfaces
•General OSHA Topics
•Roadway Workers Safety Standards
Most business people don’t think of it this way but if you can reduce your risk by reducing loss–both real and potential, you can reduce your monthly insurance premium for property, casualty, liability and workers comp. And in doing so, you are effectively adding money to the bottom line. That’s extra money in your pocket and a lot easier than quibbling over pennies for a fastener or a pound of material.