Contractors
As a contractor, the cost of reducing the expense of managing your exposure to risk has become more critical in our current economic environment. It is imperative that the cost of risk management be held to a minimum without sacrificing quality.
We at the Chittenden Group work with our clients hand in hand to develop a risk management program the focuses on identification, prevention and management of risk. In many cases we have driven down loss ratios from unacceptable levels down to the twenties. This has resulted in tremendous cost savings in term of lower premiums, better productivity, better employee morale and ultimately a healthier bottom line.
Some of the areas of focus follow:
Claims Management
At the Chittenden Group we feel the most important thing we do for our clients is claims management. When our phone rings and a claim is reported we do not turn our clients over to an 800 number. Claims can be very stressful and we feel it is our position to act as an advocate to our clients.
Probably to best way to demonstrate our approach is through an actual loss that happened to one of our clients:
Early one Thursday morning we received a call from one of our printing clients that they had a severe fire the night before and their building
Experience Modification Review
Experience Modification (MOD)
- MOD factor has direct impact on Workers Compensation premium.
- Key to Controlling Costs: Accident Prevention.
MOD is often incorrect. Formulated losses may be improperly reserved or closed for no payment but still shown. This makes all the difference in Workers Compensation Premium.
Experience MOD Worksheets…
- Issued by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI).
- Are very informative.
- Detail your Workers Compensation losses.
- Can be a bit confusing.
Mod Review Effect on a $220,000 Workers Compensation Premium
| Premium | $220,000 | Premium | $220,000 |
| Experience | |||
| Mod | 1.39 | .93 | |
| Premium | $305,800 | $204,600 |
Financial Effect on Workers Compensation Cost After Review
- Pre-Review Premium $300,580.00
- Post-Review Premium $200,460.00
- Dollar Savings “$100,120.00”
- Percentage Savings 33%
Safety Engineering
At the Chittenden Group, part of our total risk management approach is safety engineering. The best claim to have is one that was prevented.
The Benefits of a Safety Program
Industrial safety training helps workers on your job site recognize hazards and take positive action to avoid them. Training and education in this area should be mandatory for all employees. This promotes lower cost of insurance, better employee morale and superior productivity in the work place. However, even when such programs are in place, they rarely teach workers everything they ought to know to ensure their safety.
With a comprehensive professional review of your operations, the employees at your workplace will learn about site-specific dangers that management may be unaware of. After an analysis of specific dangers, we will work with management to develop training and monitoring program to reduce or eliminate these issues in the future. As a middle market company we are able to augment your current program at no additional cost to you.
Our initial step is an on sight audit where we analyze your operation to identify potential problem areas. This analysis includes the following areas:
- Vehicle safety
- Sprinkler engineering
- Ergonomics
- Machinery Guarding
- Hazards within the work space
- Construction worksite safety
- OSHA compliance
- Safety Committee effectiveness
- Fork lift safety
After this initial step we can focus on the areas where the most work is needed. We can design a program that resolves around your companies specific needs. The long term effect results in fewer losses, lower premiums and a more efficient work force.
OSHA Compliance
What triggers an OSHA inspection?
- OSHA is more likely to visit employer who has a lost time injury.
- OSHA inspections often result from a disgruntled employee with “a bone to pick.”
- Most Common: OSHA inspector visiting one of your neighbors with extra time and needs to fill a quota.
- They are unannounced visits and you are compelled to let them in.
Will you be ready?
During past U.S. Administrations…
- OSHA considerably less aggressive.
- 2001 to 2007 OSHA issued 86% fewer “economically significant” regulations.
- Future administrations may be more aggressive.
During past U.S. Administrations…
- OSHA considerably less aggressive.
- 2001 to 2007 OSHA issued 86% fewer “economically significant” regulations.
- Future administrations may be more aggressive.
- In 1979, 1 in 20 businesses were inspected. Today, 1 in 8.
- The new Stimulus Package earmarks additional funding to support “beefing up” of regulatory agencies.
- OSHA activity will likely increase.
1 – OSHA is back. DOL Secretary Solis and OSHA chief Barab have strong union ties, and are pushing an aggressive OSHA plan that in large part mirrors goals organized labor has promoted for OSHA.
2 – Solis, for instance, spoke of her working class parents in Los Angeles, both union members, “fighting side by side on their shifts to ensure workers came home safe,” and instilling in her the value that you “fight for what is right.”
3 – More than 150 new inspectors will be hired in fiscal year 2010.
4 – Penalties will be higher for violations. Consider these six-figure-plus fines proposed since Inauguration Day in January: more than $1.1 million in penalties to Milk Specialties Co. in Whitehall, Wis.; more than $255,000 in fines against a New Hampshire firearms manufacturer; more than $141,000 in fines against Hess Corp.; $105,000 in proposed penalties against an Orlando manufacturer; a Petrolia, Pa., chemical company fined more than $121,000; fall hazards at a Torrington, Conn., site lead to more than $118,000 in penalties; $273,000 in fines against a Jamestown, N.Y., employer for lack of asbestos safeguards; and an El Paso, Texas, construction contractor fined $106,200 for alleged workplace safety violations.
5 – New standards will come out on diacetyl flavoring used for popcorn, combustible dust exposure protection, cranes and derricks, confined space in construction, and rewriting the hazard communication standard to be consistent with new international MSDS laws. This is commonly called the Global Harmonization System (GHS).
6 – Broad, sweeping new standards will come out in 2011 or 2012 on ergonomics and basic requirements for having an overall safety and health program.
7 – Overall, OSHA will be more aggressive with standards and policing / enforcement than in the last 20 years.
“WE’RE BACK”, said the diminutive Solis, smiling as she stood in a concrete back hallway that exits the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, talking with Barab following a brief press conference that came after her ten-minute speech to about 3,300 ASSE members at the meeting’s opening session, held in a cavernous, generic convention ballroom.
“Make no mistake about it,” she told the standing room only crowd which lined the hall’s walls and had attendees sitting on the floor, “the Department of Labor is back in the enforcement business. We are serious, very serious.”
OSHA can be cold and their visit is just the tip of the iceberg.
Fines for minor violations can add up. Fines for major violations can be significant.
- 2008 – 39,329 OSHA inspections resulted in fines of $145 Million!
- Average fine in Connecticut – $9,000.
- Notable fines in Connecticut ranged from $95,000 to a high of $250,000.
OSHA Also Looks For…
- Machine guarding: In use
- Forklifts: Training, driver evaluation, inspections
- Overhead hoists: Training and inspections
- Use of hand and power operated tools
- OSHA 300 Log, Post 300A summary
- Employee safety training for the job they do
- Safety and Employee Manuals
- Overall job-site/yard cleanliness
- Historical Records