Executives often ask about ways to lower business insurance costs. The answer is simple—the safer and more attractive your business looks to a carrier, the lower your insurance premiums are likely to be. The key is creating and cultivating a culture of workplace safety by making employee protection and education top priorities. Here are four tips to do that:
- Implement a safety plan.
Creating—and implementing—a thorough safety plan not only helps your business protect its people, but it also outlines for carriers the definitive ways in which you do so. To start, identify any potential or existing safety hazards and put protocols in place to eliminate them. Then, develop a written plan that includes specific safety procedures, current and relevant OSHA regulations and guides for best practices in the workplace. Distribute copies to employees digitally as well. If you already have a written plan, be sure to update it regularly and review it with employees to ensure they understand any changes.
This level of preparedness will show insurance carriers that the well being of your employees is at the forefront and that you’re less likely to experience an on-site accident or incur an OSHA violation.
- Implement regular employee trainings.
While you can do your best to mitigate the risk of worksite accidents, it’s impossible to completely eliminate human error. Holding regular trainings with your employees can help, especially as rules and regulations change. Consider holding trainings on workplace harassment, safety procedures, disaster preparedness and specific equipment.
Insurance carriers rate companies based on how risky they are, so if you can show that you not only have safety procedures in place, but that you also provide extensive education, it will go a long way to reducing your premium.
- Create and maintain an employee handbook.
A detailed handbook that’s regularly updated will show insurance carriers that safety and compliance are top concerns for your business. Your employee handbook should include documentation of all of processes and protocols.
Use the handbook as part of your training curriculum when onboarding new employees. And further, go over it with the entire team at least once a year to refresh them on the material and update them on any changes.
To ensure accountability and compliance, review the handbook with your lawyer or insurance broker annually.
- Establish a disaster preparedness plan.
Are you and your employees prepared to act if disaster strikes? Establishing a disaster preparedness plan allows carriers to see that you are. These plans typically include worst-case scenarios and outline an exact course of action to take in each situation, including who’s responsible for each task.
When preparing your plan, consider various “what-if” situations. What if your office has to close down temporarily? Where will your employees work? Who will notify them? What if client data is damaged? Do you have backups in place?
Test your plan regularly to ensure everything runs smoothly and that employees understand their responsibilities.
You can never be too cautious when it comes to employee safety. By implementing these tips, you’ll protect your employees and your business’s bottom line and eventually secure a lower premium on your insurance coverage.
