A large portion of company finances is spent on worker’s compensation claims and their associated costs. Clearly the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” rings true here. While companies work hard at prevention and safety education, there is always more that can be done. Make sure your company is doing everything it can to keep workplace accidents at a minimum. Insurance and risk management work factor plays such a large role in managing costs that it is often pursued as a major degree program.
Insurance and Risk Management
Hire an insurance and risk management specialist. This professional can help you navigate the streams of documents that construction insurance companies will demand when a claim is filed. An expert in this field will hold a degree in it and will be able to help identify problem areas and will offer solutions for them. Having this person on your staff also takes the heat off of other departments as changes will be a direct result of suggestions your insurance and risk management expert has. This allows you to remain the friendly, easy to get along with boss your employees know you to be. By letting your I&R management specialist take charge, you keep company morale intact. Not to mention your specialist will do a fantastic job and save you money.
Finite Claims Time
A common practice to keep workers’ compensation claims costs down is to put a time limit on claims. Time limits significantly decrease costs associated with paperwork for workers’ compensation insurance providers. Getting the paperwork related to a claim through quickly greatly reduces costs associated with the claim. The longer it takes to get the paper completed, the longer the claim remains open and the more money is being siphoned out of your business. Additionally, once an attorney gets involved, their fees increase costs and the only one truly benefiting from their involvement is the attorney. So, limiting the claim period is one of the best strategies to keep costs down. Here are some steps to help keep your costs down and your construction insurance companies a little happier.
- Be quick. Help your employee to file all the necessary paperwork quickly and accurately. Report all injuries immediately so your employee can get appropriate medical as soon as possible. The quicker your employee receives treatment, the sooner he or she will be back at work. Getting medical treatment quickly decreases the chance of your employee hiring a lawyer, keeping costs down.
- Be prompt. Complete compilation of needed documentation of the injury including witness statements and photos.
- Keep in touch. Stay in contact with your employee; see if there is anything you can do to help during the down time such as helping with paperwork. Keeping your ties with your employee will also reduce the chances of lawyers getting involved.
- Have a return to work program. Bridging the gap between an employee’s time off and getting back to full speed on the job is important. Finding a transition position not only boosts the employee’s morale, but it also shortens time out on disability, which in turn reduces costs.
The Big Picture
Tweaking one or two problem areas that are found to lead to accidents doesn’t sound like much, but it can amount to millions of dollars in lost profit if not dealt with. Thoroughly investigated claims can help construction companies target problem areas to make them safer. Investigating claims can help employers find and eliminate problem areas. By reducing risk factors, companies reduce their rate of injury accidents, thus reducing the number of claims. This reduction then calculates into what is called the EMR. Then, construction companies insurance providers will take the reduced EMR and multiple it by the manual rate, which is composed of the average costs associated with medical claims to calculate your businesses workman’s comp rate.
Taking these costs into control will assist your worker’s compensation insurance providers by helping them give you the best rate possible, thus lowering your costs. While you may feel you have little or no control over what these costs are, you actually do. Implementing this small changes can translate into large changes in claims costs.
Start today by getting your insurance and risk management in order with a little help from Allied Insurance Brokers. Since 1982, our solutions-driven services have helped hundreds of clients protect their bottom line while lowering their total insurance cost. Our expertise across a variety of industries make our team some of the most results-driven brokers out there, adding unparalleled value that strengthens every segment of your organization. Call Allied Insurance Brokers today, and discover how we can help your organization get ahead.
