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18 Tips To Save Money
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| Control Your Losses |
| 1) |
Top management must champion the cause of safety. Issue and enforce a safety policy statement. Stress safety, stress safety, stress safety. |
| 2) |
Safety starts with the hiring process. Be diligent in your efforts to screen employees. Consider pre-employment drug tests. |
| 3) |
Take care of the simple things that can lead to serious accidents, i.e. wet floors, high storage, etc. |
| 4) |
Train employees properly for risky activities like disposing of hot oil, use of knives, etc. Your insurance carrier should serve as a safety resource. |
| 5) |
New employee safety orientation and training is critical. More than 60% of accidents occur with employees that have been with the company for less than six months. |
| 6) |
Measure your managers’ safety performance just as you measure other job responsibilities. |
| 7) |
Report injuries promptly to your insurance carrier or claims adjuster. |
| 8) |
Maintain regular contact with injured employees, in person and by phone. Encourage their return to work. |
| 9) |
Use a medical provider from a PPO network. |
| 10) |
Implement a light-duty return-to-work program. |
| 11) |
Train your employees in first aid. |
| 12) |
Your workers' comp insurer usually can provide a wide variety of safety programs, literature, documents, accident kits, posters and other materials, which would otherwise cost money to buy. Many of these items are mandated by state or federal regulations. Also, your insurer will usually keep up-to-date on OSHA and MIOSHA changes, rules, etc. |
| Monitor Your Loss Performance |
| 1) |
Advise your claim manager of suspicious claims. |
| 2) |
Review your losses quarterly for correctness. |
| 3) |
Make sure claims are closed promptly. |
| 4) |
Check that your employees are classified correctly and your payrolls are assigned to the proper classification. Most restaurant employees are classified as 9058 or 9079. Other common codes for the industry are 9052 Hotel, 8810 Clerical. |
| 5) |
Watch your experience modification. Claims will have an impact. For example, if your "mod" was at .75 due to low claims, but it jumps to 1.10, you will likely pay 50% more for your coverage for three years. So, if your annual premium was $10,000, it would increase to $15,000 because your experience had deteriorated. |
| 6) |
Consider switching to a large deductible or a group self-insurance program. |
Information courtesy of Regency Insurance Group, program manager for MRA insurance programs. www.regency-group.com, or call Regency at (800) 686-6640. |
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