What Underwriters like and dislike about Janitorial Services Companies

Janitorial Services Companies are placed in NCCI Class Code 9014 for Workers Comp

Janitorial Services Companies can be placed within a number of different NCCI Class Codes for purposes of Workers Compensation Insurance. NCCI stands for the National Council on Compensation Insurance. This organization is the foremost authority for state workers compensation systems when it comes to determining classification codes and recommending pure premium rates. NCCI gathers data, analyzes industry trends, provides objective insurance rate and loss cost recommendations. For most states there are around 700 different classification codes business are placed within.

Janitorial Services Companies are primarily placed within NCCI Class Code 9014. The duties of businesses that operate in this industry include keeping businesses clean by dusting, mopping, vacuuming, waxing, and even polishing floors. Some businesses have employees who empty trash, clean interior walls, as well as cleaning, sanitizing, and deodorizing restrooms. There are many aspects of this business that make it either a favorable or unfavorable business for an insurance carrier.

The easiest type of Janitorial Services company for an insurance carrier to offer workers compensation coverage to is an office cleaning company. This is because these businesses have less risky operations than businesses who clean exterior or industrial settings. Because of the lower risk for office cleaning companies, this classification code is the easiest to get insured and usually at the best rates. For this reason, most businesses attempt to operate in this part of the industry exclusively. For businesses that operate in other parts of this industry (carpet cleaning, floor waxing, power washing, window washing, etc.), there are many things those businesses need to consider in relation to workers compensation coverage. All businesses in the janitorial services industry can benefit from an increased focus on operating a safe business. Here are four things all businesses can do to show an underwriter they are focused on limiting insurance claims.

Types of Activities Underwriters Like about a Janitorial Services Company

Some Janitorial Services Companies operate in more risky portions of the industry. Those companies must prepare for a higher rate for all forms of commercial insurance and those companies must better prepare for keeping their employees safe. No matter the duties of the employees in this industry, it is important for the leadership of a business to implement activities underwriters like about a Janitorial Services Companies. Here are four activities that help a business get coverage and limit what the business pays for premium.

Safety Program

A Safety Program is the primary aspect a business can use to improve the results of the business. An effective safety program can limit workplace injuries, raise the morale of the staff, lower the frequency and severity of insurance claims, and increase the productivity of the business. A safety program can do this by creating a workplace culture that has employees thinking about the health and well-being of everyone involved in the business. If this is implemented effectively, it will lower the frequency and the severity of all insurance claims the business files. When the business files less workers comp claims it is because the business is experiencing less injured employees. Less injured employees means the business has created an environment that includes healthy employees. Healthy employees tend to contribute to a higher overall morale throughout the workforce. Conversely, when employees are healthy and happy, they are more likely to be more productive.

Return-to-Work Program

A Return-to-Work Program is a natural extension of a businesses safety program. It is a program most business hope they never have to use, or a program a business at least rarely uses. The best way to prepare for this is to establish a safety committee with employees from all levels of the organization. If you have an employee who has dealt with a workplace injury and the workers compensation system, it may be a wise decision to place that employee on this committee. Creating light duty activities for employees will help get them back to work quicker and give them less time to develop routines outside of their work environment. The sooner an injured employee gets back to work in any capacity, the more likely they are to eventually return to full-time permanent work.

Well-Maintained Equipment

Equipment ages and wears out over time. There is no way to avoid wear and tear on the equipment of a janitorial services company. With careful attention, maintaining equipment can get more useful life and productivity out of most equipment. For the business, this means there is less downtime and increase job site productivity. It also means less injured workers because of faulty equipment. Proper maintenance will also result in a higher resale value when the time comes to sell it.

Maintaining equipment begins with picking the right equipment in the first place and operating the used equipment in a smart, safe and efficient manner. If you require your employees to document this maintenance, it can create an atmosphere where maintenance and safety are part of the job. In addition to safety and longevity, preventative maintenance can also reduce the likelihood of theft.

Businesses that Work with OSHA

Many businesses attempt to spend as little time as possible interacting with a government agency. In some instances, this is a wise decision because interacting with a government agency can bring the eyes of regulators at many levels of the government. OSHA is one agency where this is not the case. OSHA offers many services to help a business remain safe. They will even come out to a facility upon request and give recommendation about the safety of operations. There are many ways OSHA can help a business remain safe. If a business does use any of the recommendations of OSHA, it should be documented and used when acquiring all forms of commercial insurance.

The Types of Activities Underwriters do not like Businesses to Partake?

Working at Heights

Anything that is done at heights (especially if it is done above ten feet in height), makes an insurance carrier less likely to want to offer coverage to that business. Window Washing is the primary reason an employee works at heights. Working at height causes workers compensation claims to be much more severe. When a business experiences a severe claim it sticks with their experience modification rating for a three year period. This can cause premium to be elevated for a three year period and can make it more difficult for some businesses to even get coverage offered on the open market.

Industrial Settings

Janitorial Services Companies that operate in an Industrial Setting tend to have more severe claims compared to businesses that operate primarily indoors. Especially when indoor companies operate primarily in an office setting. In many instances, businesses who operate in an industrial setting have to purchase coverage from the state’s assigned risk provider. This is because they are so risky many carriers are not willing to offer coverage to the business at all. The assigned risk provider almost exclusively offers more expensive rates compared to the open market.

Maintenance and Repair Work

NCCI Class Code 9014 allows for some maintenance and minor repair work. Most insurance carriers allow up to 10% of business be related to maintenance and repair work. Maintenance and repair work significantly raises the frequency of claims, which negatively impacts a businesses loss cost. The loss cost is the primary number an underwriter uses to determine what a business must pay for coverage.

Residential Cleaning

Residential cleaning companies operate in a less controlled environment. Most employees are driving to a third party location and are unsupervised. The fact that there is a driving risks raises both the frequency and especially the severity of insurance claims filed by these companies. Because of this elevated risk, insurance carriers are less likely to offer coverage to businesses. If those businesses are not able to find coverage on the open market, they are forced to buy coverage from the state provider. NCCI Class Code 9014 allows for residential cleaning if it is less than 50% of operations.

Exterminator

6 Insurance Policies an Exterminator Should Secure

An Exterminator is someone whose occupation is primarily the extermination of troublesome rodents and insects. They attempt to rid a property of multiple types of insects for both personal residents and commercial dwellings. For purposes of workers compensation insurance exterminators are classification code 9014. Because the essence of an exterminator business is keeping unhealthy critters out of people’s lives. With this business, comes an enormous amount of risk. Here are six types of insurance all exterminator businesses should consider securing.

Exterminator

General Liability

General Liability Insurance is designed to cover basic liability a business faces to outside third parties. It covers common slips, trips, and falls that occur because of the actions of your exterminator business. It is crucial to remember the policy is not all encompassing. There are several types of liability that are not covered within a general liability policy. For this reason, it is important to partner with an independent insurance agent to make sure your business covers all risks.

Workers Compensation

Workers Compensation Insurance is required by law for most businesses in most states. Some states have exceptions for businesses depending upon industry, revenue, and number of employees. Even if your business is not legally required to carry coverage, it is usually in your best interest to secure coverage. Workers Comp covers employees when they are injured for medical costs and some lost wages when they are hurt and not able to work. It covers the business in the form of not having to risk being sued when an employee is hurt within normal business operations.

Professional Liability

Professional Liability Insurance will protect an exterminator business from the expert advice and services it offers. If an exterminator overlooks termite damage or misapplies a chemical, the business may be liable to damages resulting from those mistakes. Without professional liability in place, these are damages the business is liable for if a lawsuit is brought by a third party.

Pollution Liability

Pollution Liability Insurance is offered on either a claims made or occurrence basis. This means a Claims Made Policy covers insurance claims based upon the time period the claim was filed. An Occurrence Policy covers a company based upon when the claim occurred. Pollution Liability provides coverage for third party bodily injury, property damage, defense, cleanup, and related defense costs as a result of pollution conditions.

Commercial Auto

If an exterminator business has employees who drive from location to location as a part of their job, some form of commercial auto insurance is necessary. If the business owns the vehicles being used, a standard commercial auto policy is all that is necessary. If the business has employees who use leased vehicles or their own personal vehicles, a hired and non-owned auto insurance policy should be added to the businesses Business Owner’s Package (BOP).

Umbrella Coverage

Umbrella Insurance is a cost effective way to ad to the limits of existing policies. The key portion of this policy for business owners to remember is that an Umbrella Insurance Policy only kicks in if the underlying claim is covered. This means that if a business has property damage that is covered by an in place commercial property policy and the damages are larger than limits of the policy, the umbrella policy will cover the additional damages up to the limits of umbrella policy. For this reason, it is a good idea to have an umbrella policy added to a business owner’s package.

Pet Services

Pet Sitting, Pet Waste Removal Services, and Dog Walking Companies

There are many types of businesses related to pet services. Pet services companies all have unique risks that need to be protected. Not all insurance packages are created equal and it is important for packages in this industry to be designed specifically for each individual business. In today’s busy world, many pet owners do not have enough time to both play with their pet and also care for the dogs many needs. Some pet owners simply don’t want to deal with grooming and waste removal. Depending upon what services your business offers, the business can create an enormous amount of liability concerns. In order to properly insure your business, it is important to take an adequate amount of time to determine exactly what type and amount of insurance your business should secure. Here are three types of companies who are included in Class Code 9014, four tips to remember when purchasing coverage, and five types of coverage businesses in this industry need to secure.

Dog running along a trail.

Pet Sitting

Pet Sitting businesses are booming in many metro areas throughout the United States. Some provide services to walk a dog during the day while a person is at work, but most specialize in offering services for when a pet owner is away on vacation. Many pet owners like the idea of leaving their dog at home in a familiar setting as opposed to a boarding house.

Pet Waste Removal Services

Pet waste removal services help customers when they need one time cleanings or ongoing periodic cleanings. Some people may want cleanings when they buy a new property that has been used by a pet owner. Most customers are regular ongoing customers who have both indoor and outdoor pets and the pet owners need periodic deep cleanings.

Dog Walking Companies

Unlike pet sitting companies, dog walking companies specialize primarily on walking a dog during the day when a pet owner is away at work. As people work more hours and metro commutes get even longer, these services are needed by more pet owners.

Pet Services Companies include companies that walk dogs during the day or when pet owners are away on vacation.

How Pet Services Companies save on Insurance?

Partner with an Independent Agent

Partnering with an Independent Agent is one of the best ways to secure insurance for your business. This is because an independent agent is not connected to any one insurance carrier. An independent agent sells the products and services of many carriers. Because of this independence, an independent agent can tell you the positives and negatives of each policy and each carrier. A captive agent sells the products of only one carrier and they are only able to tell you the positives of that one carrier. In the long run this will get your business better coverage at a lower price.

Communicate Long and Honestly With Your Agent

It is important to speak long and honestly with your independent insurance agent. No one knows your business as well as you do and because of that it is important to talk about the ins and outs of your business with your agent. It is equally important to express to them your level of comfort with risk and what you value in a relationship with your insurance agent. Remember, your agent speaks with many people from many different walks of life throughout the day. not all of those business owners value the same things in an insurance relationship as you do. Tell them what you value and set expectations on the front end in order to prevent many headaches down the road.

Shop Around Your Policy

It is important to shop around your policy periodically. It is not a good idea to switch carriers each year based on a slight drop in price, but it is important to make sure your carrier is competitive with the marketplace. Establishing a long term relationship with your carrier is important because when you experience a year when you have a severe claim or a large number of small claims. If you have purchased insurance from a carrier multiple times, they are more likely to work with you on premium after you have a bad year claims wise. At the same time, it is important to make sure your business is getting a fair price on premium.

Create a Safety Plan

A Safety Program can have an immense amount of impact on a businesses experience modification rating. This rating is the single most impactful aspect of what a carrier looks at when they are determining what to charge a business for commercial insurance. Setting a safety program for your organization can keep the frequency and severity of claims low. This will have a positive impact on what you pay for insurance.

What Insurance should a Pet Services Company Secure?

General Liability

General Liability Insurance is required by law for most business in most states. General liability covers the basic liability a business faces to third parties who are damaged by the actions of the business. This coverage is not all encompassing and it is important to speak with your agent to determine what it does and does not cover. When having this conversation, your agent should be able to help you determine what additional coverages your business needs.

Workers Comp

Workers Compensation Insurance is also required by law by most businesses in most states across the United States. There are some exceptions in each state depending upon the industry a business operates in, the state you operate, the number of employees, and revenue of a business. Workers comp covers a business for injuries that occur to employees on the job. It is referred to as the ‘Exclusive Remedy’ because it provides wage replacement and medical expenses to injured employees while businesses get the peace of mind that they cannot be sued for injuries that occur because of normal business operations.

Lost Key Liability

Lost Key Insurance covers a business who is responsible for keeping up with the keys of another person or businesses property. This coverage will pay to replace the locks of a client if you or an employee lose their keys. One thing to remember is that this coverage is specifically for the replacing of locks, but not other losses that occur because of the lost keys. For instance, if an employee losses a key and is forced to leave a clients property unlocked over night. This coverage will not cover losses that occur if the residence is broken in to over night and possessions are stolen. Also, lost key coverage does not cover criminal activity, like if your employee intentionally takes a key or has a copy made while in possession of the key.

Animal Bailee

Animal Bailee coverage provides covers your business in the event you are held legally liable for injuries or damages sustained by an animal in your care. It also can include a business personal property extension which covers loss and destruction of your property by others’ animals under your care. The bodile injuries that can occur to the pet may occur from fire, wind, theft, escape, flood, vandalism, and attack from other animals. It is important to speak with your agent about the specifics of your particular policy. Each carrier has their own exceptions to each policy. Some common exclusions include: any criminal or dishonest acts by you or your employees, theft of animals left in vehicles overnight, sickness, disease or natural causes, or neglect to use all reasonable means to save and preserve the pets.

Commercial Property

Commercial Property insurance is needed if you have a facility where you care for pets, but also if you use your residence for business purposes. Many claims that could arise while doing business are not covered under a personal home owner’s policy. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a commercial property insurance policy in order to properly protect the facility you are operating.