Is Loss Control Worth the Effort

Most owners of small businesses have many things to do in running their company. The added burden of being the safety director seems like an unpleasant task. The truth is that one cannot see an immediate result for spending time and effort on loss control, but the effort does result in a positive pay off.

Factors which are influenced by good or poor loss control are as follows:

The placing of your insurance account has a big influence on the type of company in which you may be placed, the coverage available, and the cost of the insurance. The lower your overall loss frequency and amount, the better your agent will be able to place your account in a preferred company at an attractive premium.
Workers compensation coverage is an area which really reflects good loss control. The workers compensation rating involves the use of an experience modifier. The modifier has a positive or negative effect on the final premium and in some cases it can cause a severe increase in premium. On small accounts one $25,500 loss for example, could cause a modifier to swing from a credit of 15% to a surcharge of 30% to 40%. The problem here also is that you will keep their loss in your figure for three years. Proper employer relation and proper working methods, such as lifting properly, will go a long way in helping hold down workers compensation losses and premium.
Most companies have a number of vehicles. Accidents in company vehicles can have a big impact on company automobile insurance premiums. Fleet safety is vital to helping your vehicle insured by a standard company with good rates and premiums. When drivers start having an excessive number of accidents the company will find themselves having to purchase its insurance through a high-rate insurance company. The company executives will also be called upon to spend part of their time dealing with the claim repairs, down time of an important vehicle, etc. The accounts which have poor driver selection will find that the insurance companies require that certain drivers be excluded which will cause a disruption of work and delivery schedules. The policy premium will annually increase substantially where there has been a poor fleet loss history.
Some companies, before hiring a sub-contractor, will take into consideration the loss history of the sub-contractor under consideration.
When the business is operating in a field which requires jobs to be bid on, the company with low loss frequency and severity will usually have a competitive advantage due to paying lower premiums.

Is Loss Control Worth the Effort

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