10 terms to help you navigate the Workers Compensation System

Previously we wrote about several common terms related to commercial insurance here.  These were terms that a business owner should familiarize themselves with before renewing any commercial insurance policy. especially before interacting with their states workers compensation system.  Here is a list of terms you might come across related specifically to workers’ compensation insurance. Some of the terms may not have to do with your renewal specifically, but if you use the workers comp system long enough you very well may come across some or all of these terms.  

 

Aggravation:  Aggravation usually implies a fresh incident producing additional impairment to a previously injured anatomical region. Aggravations are usually not temporary.

Carrier Code:  The ten-character code that identifies a specific insurance carrier. W is always the first character in the code for a carrier of Workers’ Compensation policies. The codes for carriers of Disability Benefits insurance always begins with the letter B. Carrier codes are issued by the Finance Office of the WCB.

Claims administrator:  The term for insurance companies and others that handle your workers’ compensation claim. Most claims administrators work for insurance companies or third party administrators handling claims for employers. Some claims administrators work directly for large employers that handle their own claims. Also called claims examiner or claims adjuster.

Date of Injury (DOI): If the injury was caused by one event (a specific injury), this is the date of the event. If the injury was caused by repeated exposures (a cumulative injury), this is the date that the worker knew of should have known that the injury was caused by work.

First Report of Injury:  Each state has their own form that should be filled out anytime an injury occurs on the job. They should be reported no matter how minor the injury is. Insurance carriers track these forms to look for patterns of injuries and to help employers prevent injuries from becoming more severe or more common. Here is an example of one of these forms from the state of Wisconsin.  

Functional capacity evaluation (FCE):  An FCE is a series of tests administered to a workers’ comp claimant by a physical therapist or other health care professional. They can be beneficial in determining an injured worker’s capabilities and restrictions.

Independent Medical Examination (IME): Am IME is a medical evaluation that is used to resolve questions about your medical condition, including what treatment is necessary and the degree of your permanent impairment, if any. An IME is most often requested by the insurance company when there is a question about what treatment you need or what permanent disability rating you should be given.

Loss Ratio:  The relationship of incurred losses compared to the earned premiums expressed as a percentage. If, for example, a firm pays $100,000 of premium for workers compensation insurance in a given year, and its insurer pays and reserves $50,000 in claims, the firm’s loss ratio is 50 percent ($50,000 incurred losses/$100,000 earned premiums).

National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI):  NCCI is a U.S. insurance rating and data collection bureau specializing in workers’ compensation. Operating with a not-for-profit philosophy and owned by its member insurers, NCCI annually collects data covering more than four million workers’ compensation claims and two million policies.

Workers’ Compensation Audit:  A review of the compensation paid during the policy term to determine whether the exposure used to determine the original premium was accurate. If during the policy term, the actual exposure changed from the original estimate of what it would be, then an adjustment to the premium would be made at the time of the audit. If there was more exposure than the estimate indicated, then more premium will be charged. If there was actually less exposure than the estimate, premium will be refunded.

 

3 ways to managing risk in the Non-Profit Industry

There are many reasons why people go in to the non-profit industry.  Some people want to fight poverty, some work closely with a church and others might be dedicated to fighting a disease.  One common theme among people who work in the non profit industry is that they want to be a part of something greater than themselves.  One thing many people in this industry do not anticipate is having to manage risk, but this can be one aspect of their job that can ultimately determine the success or failure of the organization.

Find the best answers to your Non Profit Insurance questions at MyInsuranceQuestion.com

Many people who go in to this sector do not anticipate having to manage risk or buy insurance. They probably do not anticipate their jobs causing them to have to worry about things like a return-to-work program, workers’ compensation benefits or general liability insurance. As a non-profit professional, how effectively you handle these aspects of your organization will contribute immensely to the success or failure of your organization. For that reason we have created three main tips for managing risk within your non-profit agency.

 

Have an effective safety program in place.

Having an effective non-profit safety program in place is essential for all non-profit organizations.  Most non-profits depend on people volunteering their precious time and money to the organization. The last thing you want to happen is for a volunteer to be injured while helping your organization. A safety program can prevent this from happening.

First and foremost, reporting and documenting injuries needs to be a part of your company culture. It should start with the first training all employees get during the on-boarding process. Employees need to be well aware of how to inform volunteers how to properly do their job in a safe manner.  This can go hand in hand with your business’s safety program and your business’s safe driving program.  Another thing to keep in mind is that how safe your organization takes safety starts with you and your key employees.  If you stress safety as the professional, your employees and volunteers will also value this safety program.

Non Profit Insurance Answers

When should a new or small non-profit decide to purchase insurance?

For a new non profit, insurance may not be necessary at first, but it is not something to be taken lightly. No matter what the financial situation is of an organization, the quickest way to fail as a non-profit is to not secure adequate insurance.  Your state laws will determine when you must purchase coverage. Workers’ comp and general liability are typically the first two policies you will find a need for.  Workers comp protects your employees and general liability protects your organization from damages to third parties.   Even if you are fairly sure you have proper coverage or do not need coverage at this time, consulting with an insurance professional with whom you trust is a very wise decision.  If you know someone who works in risk management or insurance, it might be a good idea to ask them to sit on your board of directors.

Have a return-to-work program in place for injured employees.

Operating an effective return-to-work program is another aspect that will contribute immensely to the success or failure of your organization.  Ideally you will never have a need for a return to work program because none of your employees will ever be injured on the job. But as you very well know, we do not live in an ideal world. For that reason it is crucial for you to prepare for the day when you do have an inured employee. If you are prepared, you will be able to get those employees back on the job quickly and control the cost to your organization.   Any work you have to get the injured employee involved in the organization will benefit the injured employee and your organization in the long run.  Getting people back on the job quickly is important because the quicker they are back on the job the more likely they are to not become an injured worker long-term or permanently.

How can I Lower my Workers Compensation Insurance Premium?

Workers compensation insurance premium is often a large portion of overall property and casualty insurance costs. Many business owners look at the workers compensation premium and wonder how they can reduce the overall cost of the insurance policy. The following ideas can help reduce your costs and hopefully help make your business more profitable.

Make sure you are classified properly

Business will have a classification code determined by National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) or some cases the State will have a slightly different number that is used by insurance carriers to rate workers compensation insurance premium. For Example one way to reduce your cost is to take advantage of standard exceptions to the code classification. Employees who perform clerical duties and are physically separate from manufacturing operations may be classified as clerical employees with a much lower rate. Make sure the classification for your employees is appropriate.

Monitor your loss control and safety programs

Loss Control and Safety is critical for preventing losses in the workplace. Set the expectation in your safety manual. Follow up by reminding employees of safe practices including lifting, distracted driving, and the hazard of wet floors. Scheduled safety meetings and incentive programs should be used to promote workplace safety. Decreasing losses will reduce your overall insurance costs.

Develop an effective return-to-work program 

Develop a return to work program. Having injured employees staying at home collecting workers compensation will raise your costs on premiums and also on additional labor you will need to hire while that person is out. A way to get your injured employee to return to work as soon as possible is to create a temporary position for that person. You can give them duties that are not taxing on the body so that they will still be able to recover while they are working.

Speak with your agent about adding a deductible

Evaluate the benefit of adding a deductible to your Workers’ Compensation program. A deductible provides an immediate credit to the workers compensation insurance premium calculation. Additionally, losses under the deductible will not be reported to NCCI and will cause a reduction in your experience modification. Be sure to analyze the cost of funding your deductible.

Notice if there is a pattern to workers compensation claims. Determine if certain areas of your business have fewer claims than others, and determine why the risk is lesser or greater in different areas. Reduce risk by duplicating safe behaviors and programs and eliminating risky behaviors.. Eliminate workplace hazards that have caused an employee to get sick or injured so it doesn’t happen again. Some carriers will even provide help in this area. 

Report claims ASAP

Report Claims as soon as possible! Provide medical attention quickly if an employee is injured, as prompt medical attention may reduce complications that may arise from delayed care. Complications can make workers’ compensation claims more expensive, which may increase insurance premiums.Statistics prove that losses reported 24 hours or more after the loss are more expensive than those reported promptly. Managing your Workers’ Compensation program carefully can save money and improve your bottom line.

These are just a few ideas that can help you in either keeping your premiums low or driving them down. Every business wants to be more profitable and it can be as simple as investing in work place safety that could get you started in the right direction.

 

Travel exposure and work comp

I have had many conversations recently about employees and travel exposure in regards to workers’ comp insurance. Most employers understand that regular commuting does not result in a work comp claim.  Even if there is an accident involving an employee. However, many carriers view every day or long distance highway travel as a higher risk exposure.

Salespeople, nurses, and other employees who are on the road a lot often are exempt from the coming-and-going rule. Travel is integral to their employment because they don’t work from a fixed office. This also holds true for construction risks.  These businesses have employees that are going from their home state to another state to work. Basically from the time they leave their front door until they return home from that job they have 24/7 work comp exposure. The Walsh Test helps to determine jurisdiction when multiple states are invloved in a workers compensation claim for these employees.

Workers Compensation Coverage for Travelling Nurses.

On-call employees are likely covered from the moment they are called into work even if they get hurt at home. Employees who are injured during business travel may receive compensation, even if the accident happens during recreation. Courts generally are liberal in determining workers’ compensation eligibility in work travel accidents. In many cases, even if the activity that caused the injury is not considered work related.

If an employee is on a trip that is work related and they go to work out at the gym, if they injure themselves at the gym they are covered by workers comp. They are covered because a lawyer  would argue they were only in that gym at that time because they were out of town for a work trip.  For this reason the injury is covered.

With that being said, if an employee goes out for a business dinner and is in an accident after having too much to drink, work comp would most likely deny the claim.  This is because the use of alcohol would exclude the injury whether they were on the clock or not.   So with in certain limits would work comp kick in for traveling employees. It’s worth noting that workers’ compensation coverage for commuting employees varies state to state.

If an employee runs a work-related errand on the way home from work and gets in an accident, her injuries may be compensated. Another example of this would be if an employee is injured running a work-related errand while out for [personal time] lunch. This relates to the dual purpose or capacity concept.

Most of the time I run into having this conversation with a client if it is a higher risk construction company.  A company like carpentry commonly has employees in the home state that are traveling into multiple states annually. Here is the outlook from an underwriting perspective.  Not only is your business in a risky trade like carpentry, but we are throwing in across state lines travel. Where accidents happen in a vehicle with possibly one if not three or four employees could be injured. These are two big reasons insurance carriers are not interested in this type of risk.

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Differentiating Workers’ Comp Insurance from being a Commodity Product

Workers’ Comp Insurance is often thought of as a commodity product. There is some logic to that line of thinking. Pricing is determined by classifying employees and then taking the percentage rate assigned to that classification and multiplying it by estimated payroll. In some states such as Florida and Wisconsin, the workers’ comp rates assigned to those classifications are set by states, whereas in some states the rates by classification can vary from carrier to carrier. In competitive states, pricing is often thought to be the main differentiator between workers’ comp carriers. Most of the benefits paid from claims related to workers’ comp insurance are set by statutes, so carriers should be viewed pretty similarly in that regard as well.

Other than pricing, what can separate workers’ comp insurance carriers? Carrier rating is one factor that is considered. It relates to the financial strength of carriers. A higher carrier rating should lead to more certainty that claims will get paid, but it is highly unusual for claims not to get paid by any workers’ comp insurance carrier. Higher carrier ratings are sometimes required to meet insurance requirements of vendors or customers. A carrier’s customer service reputation can also be relevant. Additionally, payment plans can vary by carriers. Some carriers offer pay as you go. This allows premium to be paid in line with how busy a company is at a particular time. Furthermore, it generally reduces large audit balances.

Another differentiating factor is, are different programs offered by workers’ comp insurance carriers. Missouri Employers Mutual is one carrier who offers several programs to enhance employee safety. They often safety grants to policy holders. The grants will provide dollar for dollar matching funds up to $20,000 for successful applicants to purchase more permanent type safety devices. Some applicants may be able to get a grant larger than their policy premium. Missouri Employers Mutual also offers safety dividends to policy holders with lower loss ratios as a way to reward good safety practices. The Hartford is another carrier that offers numerous programs to differentiate its product. They offer programs to provide discounted slip resistant footwear to employees, programs that can lead to weight loss and overall a healthier employee pool and discounts related to vendors which can provide a more ergonomic friendly workplace. The Hartford also provides a broad form policy which includes things like more cancellation notices, pays benefits for more additional expenses, includes complimentary waivers when needed and provides longer notification periods for insureds related to certain mandatory notification events. Some carriers, such as Employers, offer price differentiators such as filing for a 5% rate deviation in Florida which allows them to offer worker’s comp rates which are 5% lower than other carriers in Florida which must use the rates set by the state.

Another area carriers can differentiate themselves is by superior loss control or claims management services. Utah Business Insurance (UBIC) is a carrier that offers superior loss control. Very knowledgeable field reps meet with prospects and insureds to provide insight on safe work places. These field reps are strongly versed in OSHA and other safety protocols. Both UBIC and Missouri Employers Mutual also diligently investigate claims as they arise.

While price is always an important consideration as it relates to workers’ comp insurance, there are numerous other factors worth considering when selecting a workers’ comp provider.

Eight CyberSecurity Tips for Small Businesses

Cyber Security

In-depth Training for Employees in Cyber Security Prevention

You and your information technology expert need to come up with basic security practices for your employees. There need to be clear and concise rules of behavior for your employees regarding passwords and customer information.

Protect all sensitive Information from Cyber Attacks

Starting with just keeping the computers clean and always running the latest security software on schedule.  Make sure you are install all of the proper malware, antivirus, and key software updates. If you and your IT Professional are constantly paying attention to cyber security, the employees will take more of an interest as well.

Make sure you purchase the proper Cyber Insurance Policies

Cyber Security Insurance comes in two forms that are usually packaged together. The first is commonly referred to as Data Breach Insurance and it covers your first party damages to you and your business. The other coverage is commonly referred to as Cyber Liability Insurance. This coverage protects your business from the third party liability your business may have to customers and other parties who may be damaged by a data breach that occurs within your business.

Get the best answers to Data Breach and Cyber Security Insurance questions at MyInsuranceQuestion.com

Do not forget about having a policy regarding Mobile Devices 

Mobile devices are such a common part of our lives now that many people forget to realize their phones are a prime target for criminals to access a business’s sensitive information. Many employees may want to have access to their company email on their phones, especially if they travel much for work.  Having a well thought out policy that you are comfortable with and adequate measures to check that your employees are following the procedures is essential.

Make backup copies of important business data and information

There should always be a way for you to retrieve customer’s sensitive information. Microsoft one drive is a great fairly new software program that allows you to store and share information internally.  If you can afford it, having a second server at a separate location may be necessary depending on how much information your business does store.

Cyber Security Insurance is needed for most small businesses.

Strictly control access to your computers and create user accounts for each employee

This can help dramatically if you have an internal problem. Knowing who was logged in at the time of the access can help determine where to go to find information about a hack. It may be as simple as an employee who opened a zip file in an email and they are scared to bring that to your attention fearing retribution or it may help you find the source of employee theft.

Secure your Wi-Fi networks

Properly securing your Wi-Fi network may seem like something obvious to prevent a hack. For small businesses owners without a lot of technology experience may not know how to do this or the need for this type of security. This should be the first and foremost thing a small business should do to prevent unauthorized access.  This is important to consider for businesses that are open to the public or may offer Wi-Fi access to their customers.

A Strong Password is essential to a good Cyber Security Program.

Passwords and authentication

Passwords protection is crucial to defending your business from a data breach.  It is important to give your employees hard examples of what is a good password and what is not.  What may seem secure to one employee may be something as simple as October which is not acceptable in the least bit.  Here are some examples of password you can use to demonstrate strong and weak passwords.

6f8Il,E6pg%j2

This would be an example of a password that is extremely secure.

BaSkeTBaLl_2741+3657

This would be an example of a password that is a little less secure, but easier to remember.

JoeSmith or password

These are examples of terrible passwords that should never be used.

You will find many employees like to use something similar to the middle password. This is because it has some resemblance to a word they can associate with to remember the password more easily.  I personally like this because, in the Fall I might use Football or Autumn, in the Winter I might use basketball or Thanksgiving. As long as you are keeping the other numbers and special characters random it is difficult for hackers to hack through these secure passwords.  The birthdays of yourself or a family member should never used. There should also be a time period for how frequently a password must be changed. Every 90 days is a good rule of thumb, but many businesses have different requirements based on the needs of their organizations.

Additional Insured or Waiver of Subrogation

My Customer Service Representative (CSR) and I see a ton of requests for a Certificate of Insurance. Many of our clients do not understand what a Certificate Holder is or what being an additional insured means. I want to describe the differences between additional insured and a certificate holder. I want to explain this because, many clients don’t understand why an Additional Insured cannot be named on a workers comp policy. These same clients do not understand why the same person can be named on Liability Policies. Well I am going to shed some light on this situation. Here are four common terms that will help a business owner through the process.

Certified, additional insured, waiver of subrogation.

Certificate of Insurance:

A certificate of insurance is a document issued by an insurance company to verify insurance coverage to another person. The document tells what coverage is secured and under what specific conditions grated to the listed individuals. The document lists the effective date of the policy and the type of insurance coverage secured. Also, a certificate of insurance includes the limits of liability and the dollar amount of coverage. It is important to understand the holder of the certificate is not covered under the policy. The certificate serves as proof the holder made sure the person they are interacting with secured coverage.

Additional Insured:

When an insurance professional refers to an additional insured, they are referring to a type of status associated with General Liability Insurance Policies. Those policies provide coverage to other individuals or a group of individuals who were not initially named on the policy. After endorsement, the additional insured will be protected under the named insurer’s policy. They can file a claim in the event they are sued. Additional Insured is available on General Liability, Auto Liability and Umbrella Liability.

Certificate Holder:

A certificate holder is an individual or entity that is named on the certificate of insurance. When named on the certificate, they are notified when coverage is cancelled prior to the renewal date. This is needed in the event a business is partnering with a contractor or another business and that business does not hold the necessary coverage for the business interaction. No coverage protection under the contractor’s policies is provided to a Certificate Holder.

Waiver of Subrogation:

A Waiver of Subrogation means the insurance carrier agrees to relinquish any right to recover damages if it is determined in the course of investigating the claim that the client or one of the client’s employees was responsible for the loss. An insurance carrier may reserve the “right of subrogation” in the event of a loss. This means the company may choose to take action to recover the amount of a claim paid to a covered insured, if the loss was caused by a third party.

Waiver of Subrogation is available on General Liability, Auto Liability, Umbrella Liability and Workers Compensation. A Waiver of Subrogation provision prevents an insurance company (who steps into the shoes of the insured after it pays a loss) from suing the other party to the contract. This is likely the party who caused the loss.  Moreover, Waiver of Subrogation provisions found in contracts are generally upheld by Courts.

When a contractor works another person’s property, there are risks involved. Contractors can damage personal property or be injured while performing work. Companies and individuals that hire contractors want to be certain they will not be held liable for injuries, damages or substandard work. For this reason, they will frequently request to see a certificate of insurance from those contractors.

In my experience, most client’s call and request an additional insured to be added to a work comp policy.  An Additional Insured cannot be added to a Workers Compensation Policy. As stated above, an Additional Insured is naming someone else on a policy and a Work Comp Policy is written to cover injured employees. Workers Comp does not cover another company.  The alternative to this issue would be requesting a Waiver of Subrogation.  If you are a sub contractor and you are working with a larger company requesting a Waiver of Subrogation, it is important to make sure you the contractor understand what you are being asked to waive.

If your company hires subcontractors, it’s important to get a certificate of insurance from every subcontractor. Even if you trust your subcontractors. For example, if you have worked with these contractors in the past you need to get updated certificates. Even if you knew the to have insurance in the past they may not have it now. A business owner should submit a request for a certificate each time they hire a contractor. This insures they have proper insurance. Proper insurance at the time you hired them. Doing this can prevent a scenario where you inadvertently take on the risks associated with the work your subcontractors perform.

 

The content of My Insurance Question is created by the experts at The Insurance Shop LLC. The Insurance Shop is an independent insurance agency that was founded in 2005. Over the past decade and a half, the agents at The Insurance Shop have developed relationships with more then a dozen insurance carriers. These carriers give their agents the ability to shop your policy around and make the carriers compete for your business. If you are looking for a better value when renewing your commercial insurance package, let us shop insurance so you don’t have to. Give us a call today at 800-800-4864.

What Do My Workers Compensation Limits Mean?

We get this question a few times a week because most business owners don’t quite understand their workers compensation limits. They try to compare them to their general liability limits and that is where some of the confusion sets in. The Limits on your workers’ compensation insurance policy provide coverage for a business against lawsuits arising from employment-related injuries or illnesses.  For example, if an injured employee is not satisfied alone with medical and loss of wage benefits because they feel their employer purposefully put them in harm’s way on the job or were grossly negligent, and as a result they were injured, they may sue for punitive damages.  In some cases, even the employee’s family can sue for the same damages. This is where Part II of a workers’ comp policy would kick and provide coverage.

It is important to note that employers’ liability coverage is limited, unlike medical benefits or loss of wages.  This is the spot that a lot of business owners or anyone starts to get confused. They see limits on their workers’ compensation policy and naturally think that is the max that would be paid in an injury scenario. A workers’ compensation policy will pay out whatever it takes to rehabilitate an injured employee. Employers liability or Part II will not pay out unlimited amounts on behalf of employers who were charged with gross negligence or knowingly placing their employees in harm’s way.  Employers’ liability coverage in most states starts at $100,000 each employee, $100,000 each accident and at $500,000 per policy limit for disease- these limits are statutory or minimum limits that come with the purchase of a policy.  These coverage limits can be raised for a nominal additional premium percentage on most policies.  Many businesses opt for increased employers’ liability limits.  They do this because of a need for peace of mind or because their work contracts often require higher limits than statutory requirement.

To give you an idea on how these limits work, think about it in this manner. An employee working in a manufacturing plant is exposed to lead on a daily basis. The employer does not have proper ventilation or does not always check on the employee to make sure they are wearing proper attire. Whether that is long sleeve shirts and pants or to have a respirator so they are filtering the air quality they are breathing. The employee gets injured on the job after many years of never missing work. It is also discovered that they have come down with a serious illness that may be caused by years of lead exposure. The employee and his family are not satisfied with the level of benefits workers compensation is providing and has decided to sue the Employer for negligence. This is where the limits in Employers Liability or Part II would kick in. There are many other scenarios that could come into play outside of illness, but this is just one example of how a 3rd party may potentially bring suit against your company. The best thing to do is always be proactive with safety, etc. which can be hard for a small business.  Because your time is very invested in the day to day activities of the business.

6 things an underwriter loves to see when quoting commercial insurance.

For most small business owners, purchasing insurance is not one of their favorite things to do. Most business owners would rather be involved in the day to day operations of what their business does to make a profit. Taking a little extra time before you pick up the phone to get a quote can make all the difference in the world when you are offered a quote.  Here are 6 things to keep in mind when speaking with your agent about a business insurance quote.

Small Business Insurance

Have your info.

Everyone wants a quote and they want it quick, but insurance is not a business in which a company can quote a price on the drop of a hat. Proper tax id number, your experience modification rating and accurate payroll figures make the process much quicker for an agent to get a quote from the underwriter. If you don’t have this information a carrier cannot and will not offer you a quote. to save yourself and the carrier some time, have this information ready before you start looking around for coverage.

Safety programs are in place

Safety programs can be expensive and time consuming, but they absolutely benefit your company in many ways. First and foremost, they lower the amount and severity of injuries that occur to your employees. Second they limit the amount of time it takes injured employees to return-to-work. Third it can impact what you pay in premium for commercial insurance. If and when you have an injured employee, your insurance agent can negotiate on your behalf with your insurance carrier to not raise your rate on premium because of the claim. If a detailed safety plan is in place the carrier might see this one incident as more of an outlier and not a sign of how the business operates. If there is not a safety plan in place your business is much more likely to have your rates go up or be dropped by your carrier altogether.

A thorough and accurate website

The accuracy of your website is extremely important. Your agent is going to have a conversation with you about your operations. During this conversation it is important to tell him not only what your business does, but more importantly what your business does not do. Your website needs to match up with this description.  If you run a landscaping business that does not work on trees, but your website offers tree services than an underwriter is going to wonder what else you are not telling them. This is a great way to get a higher premium or more likely be denied coverage altogether.

A detailed payroll history

I know you may not like giving away too much information about your business, but the more accurate this number is that you give to your agent the more accurate your quote will be.  This will all get straightened out during an end of term audit, but it is best to prevent over or underpaying on premium by giving accurate numbers to your carrier up front.

Don’t be a rate jumper

A business who seems to change carriers every year at the slightest drop in premium. Carriers want to establish a long term relationship with a customer. If you have several carriers over the last few years it may be a red flag that those carriers dropped your business or that the carrier may only have your business for one term. Unless your payroll is extremely high it may not be financial sound for them to quote you.

 

Don’t forget, in the end they work for you

If you forget a few pieces of information that are necessary for a quote than it might be expected for the agent or underwriter to be a bit frustrated. But never forget that these people work for you. If they make you feel too uncomfortable do not hesitate to walk out and speak with another agency or carrier. Do what you feel is best for your business.

Why so many questions???

Shopping your Workers Compensation insurance –

4 Tips for the best and fastest results

Shopping insurance can be a daunting task. This is not commonly the case with other purchases. When you buy a couch, you just pick out one that feels comfortable.  One that fits your room or matches your style. You look for one that is in your price range and bam! you have the newest edition to your next super bowl party.

Shopping insurance, as much as we would like it to be, is not like buying a couch. Yes, you shop for a policy that fits your coverage needs and the budget you are able to afford, but there are some distinct differences to shopping for an insurance policy. An important factor to consider is the seller’s motives. When you buy a couch, the sale for all intents and purposes is over. The expense and liability of the company selling the couch is basically the same no matter who they sell the couch to.  When you buy insurance, the company who is providing that coverage doesn’t have the same benefit. Insurance companies use a variety of data to determine the risk of each person or business purchasing from them. The reason this information is used is because it has been shown somewhere in their data that this factor shows a correlation between certain variables and their likeliness of a claim. There are something you can do to help tip the odds in your favor. Here are four tips for making the quoting process easier for you and can help you get you the best price you desire:

Be Presentable: Dress your business up for Sunday church, not casual Friday. Show a clear outline of the purpose of your business and the kind of work you do. Equally importantly is to outline the work you won’t do. Make sure your marketing material and websites match this. There are few objections harder to overcome with an underwriter than a website that says you do something your application says you do not. Having these things in line is the best way to get a great first impression.

Be Open about the biggest risk: Every company has some operations that are lower risk than others. Insurance is as much about preventing claims as it is about paying them. The goal of the industry is to make your business whole after a claim, but wouldn’t it be better if we help you to prevent that claim from happening in the first place. Tell your agent about everything you do. If we don’t know that you are hanging from a rope 50 ft off the ground with a chainsaw in your hand, we can’t help find a better way to protect yourself and your employees in that situation (true story).

Note the details: Sometimes high risks are deal breakers, however sometimes in the right circumstances this can be overcome by showing the amount of this exposure. “Yes, we do work on roofs, however they are only flat commercial roofs and only ones with inside stair access or a permanently attached ladder with walls around the perimeter”. The controls you have in place for the highest risk work will be the most vital controls to focus on.

Don’t be afraid to show your hand: A lot of times people look at an insurance purchase like a poker game. If you are buying insurance as a commodity, then that’s what you should expect to receive when you want that policy serviced.

If you work on the same side of the table with your agent however they can work to get the best pricing possible. There is no better pricing than you can obtain from an insurance company than when the underwriter knows what they are insuring. When the underwriter is confident in your business and knows what price they have be at to earn your business they may be more aggressive with credits and discounts. There is much more savings to be had if you say “this is the premium you have to be at to earn my business” than there is with “show me your best price”.