Why your business insurance provider needs to be smart about workers compensation
According to recent reports, our country spends $155.5 billion each year on issues related to workplace injuries, illnesses, and death. How much has your business spent on workers compensation claims or problems in the last year? How much over the course of your business lifetime? Hopefully with good business insurance, your out of pocket expenses have been minimal. However, if you continue to see a big dip in your profit due to workers compensation issues, you need to talk to your business insurance provider on how to reverse this trend.
Business insurance providers should come to the table with extensive knowledge on every different possible industry, problem, and solution that exists. It may seem this is unrealistic, but many different business insurance providers like Northeast-headquartered Norton Insurance are in the business of helping people, and discovering things you have been unable to pinpoint yourself. Based on your business needs, most business insurance providers will provide you with a complete and diverse portfolio of different policies, like commercial insurance and business liability insurance that will help protect your company, employees, and maximize your potential for continued profit.
Workers compensation insurance is a complex arena of business insurance. Although many business owners are very willing to invest in other areas of insurance, workers compensation is a piece of the puzzle that can sometimes get overlooked, or not given the priority or importance it deserves. In fact, many business owners have put workers compensation on the back burner, and purchased low-cost policies that provide “just enough” coverage, thinking it’s unlikely they will ever have to use it or need it. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Accidents in the workplace happen all the time, and even as unbelievable as the situations can sometimes be, it should be a reality for your business.
According a recent article in Business Insurance by Roberto Ceniceros, some companies are taking a very smart approach with workers compensation, and trying to minimize the risk of issues before they even happen. This is done through wellness programs. Many companies are offering wellness programs and workshops (i.e. chronic disease management such as persistent back pain or diabetes) to employees in an attempt to reduce accidents, boost productivity, help reduce medical spending, and get people back to work faster after a medical leave.
If this is of interest to you, set up a time to meet with your business insurance provider. They should certainly have the knowledge and tools to help explain how this could work more in depth, and help create a specific solution around your needs. For example, your commercial insurance provider can explain your insurance rates (and what factors contribute to this), how to minimize workplace risk, how to obtain a lower premium, and how to have the safest and most profitable workplace. Also be sure to make this a company-wide discussion, so your employees understand the current plan and your mission. Since your employees are also partners in your business, they will be happy to contribute in any way possible to the continued security and success of your company.
