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You’ve heard the old adage about people not learning from history being doomed to repeat it? This is certainly applicable to the safety programs of businesses. If accidents are to be avoided, the business must learn how and why they happen in the first place. It’s only through this knowledge that businesses can prevent such accidents from recurring.

An accident investigation should be devised in a manner that will gather information thoroughly and objectively, not assign blame or point fingers carelessly. Accidents are rarely the result of one solitary causative agent. In fact, they generally involve a multitude of direct and indirect factors that result in human failure, mechanical failure, and/or poor work environment. Once a thorough investigation is completed, the business should effectively be able to develop new training and safety protocols to prevent the same incident from happening again. Here are 10 tips to assist you in conducting an investigation into an accident:

1. Always make sure any injured individuals receive appropriate first aid treatment and medical care.
2. Don’t disturb the area where the accident took place.
3. Secure the accident area.
4. Ensure the site is safe before beginning an investigation, but begin the investigation as soon as it is safe to do so to make sure that evidence hasn’t been disturbed and the incident is fresh on the minds of witnesses.
5. The safety program should define employee protocol for dealing with an accident site.
6. The safety program should also have an investigation guideline and checklist to ensure proper protocol adherence.
7. Materials needed to conduct an investigation should be readily available – camera, video recorder, personal protective equipment, notepads, pens and markers, accident and incident forms, checklists, measuring tape, evidence containers, and so forth. These should be used to document the site of the accident thoroughly, gather and record information, and preserve evidence.
8. All witnesses should be documented immediately and interviewed as soon after the accident as possible.
9. Anyone who used the equipment involved or that was near the accident scene just before or after the accident should also be documented immediately and interviewed as soon as possible.
10. Objective questions should be asked in a manner that will give a comprehensive snapshot of the accident, events leading up to the accident, and the conditions of the environment surrounding the accident. This should include supervisory instruction, equipment condition, work protocol, weather conditions, and such.

From the above, the business should be able to analyze the collected information and evidence and determine how and why the accident occurred. From there, the business will be able to create or adjust safety and training protocols to prevent future accidents.

Coinsurance clauses are commonly found in a Builder’s Risk Completed Value policy. As one might deduce merely from the name, a coinsurance clause involves the policyholder becoming a co-insurer of the risk of loss with the insurer. In other words, certain conditions would result in the insurance company not paying the total amount of loss, thereby leaving the policyholder to bear the remainder of the loss amount. The insured and the insurer jointly assume the risk.

Those unfamiliar with such a clause are probably wondering why any policyholder would even consider a coinsurance clause. The benefit of buying an insurance policy with such a clause is that the policyholder will usually have relatively low premiums compared with similar policies that don’t contain a coinsurance clause. That said, anyone considering a coinsurance clause should understand what it entails and requires, so that they aren’t taken by surprise with penalties should a loss occur.

A typical coinsurance clause found in a Builder’s Risk Completed Value policy will say that the insurer will not pay more for any loss than the proportion that the limit of insurance bears to the value of the structure described in the declarations as of the structure’s date of completion.

The way a coinsurance clause works with the policy limit is often a source of confusion for policyholders. Take a loss of $20,000 with a policy limit of $100,000 for instance. It would superficially appear as though the insurer would be responsible for the total loss. However, once the coinsurance clause is figured into the equation, the insurer might not be responsible for paying the total loss amount. This will depend on the policyholder maintaining enough insurance to avoid the coinsurance penalty.

If the coinsurance is applied, it might look something like this: Still using the $100,000 policy and $20,000 worth of damage from above, the completed value of the project will be determined as $120,000 at the time of loss. The value of the $100,000 policy is only 80% of the $120,000 actual value of the project. So, the insurer is only responsible to pay $16,000, which is 80% of the $20,000 worth of damage.

Anytime the policyholder receives a lesser sum than what the full value of the claim is because of a shortfall between the completed value of the project and the policy limit, it’s termed a coinsurance penalty. The discrepancy between the two numbers can be the result of a number of mistakes made by the policyholder. Policyholders often make the mistake of failing to report when expected costs are surpassed. Any increased completed value must be shown in the policy limit when costs overrun original figures. The best way to make sure the policy limit is updated is by keeping your insurance agent apprised to the overruns so that the appropriate changes can be made.

All too often a policyholder makes the mistake of setting their limit of insurance based on the amount of the construction loan for the structure. Most of the time, the completed value of the project is greater than the amount of the construction loan. An example would be a significant portion of a building project being funded by cash, but not computing the cash amount when totaling the completed value. If the insurance is only for the financed amount, then the policyholder will suffer a coinsurance penalty for any losses.

Another common mistake occurs when the policyholder doesn’t include profit and overhead in the completed value. These are generally figured at 10% for each. If not accounted for, this can cause a substantial coinsurance penalty.

Sometimes, it’s what shouldn’t be included that could lead to problems. Land value, excavations, and underground work, for example, shouldn’t be included in the completed value. These aren’t covered losses on typical policy forms. So, the policyholder would just be paying additional costs for items that wouldn’t be covered during loss.

When it comes to Workers Compensation claims, companies are looking constantly for ways to reduce claims and reduce costs.

Ascribing the cost of Workers Compensation claims to applicable internal departments can encourage supervisors and managers to pay more attention to training and safety programs and more carefully monitor injured employees returning to work. Some companies have even deducted the claim cost from the budget of the ascribed department instead of a general company fund as an additional incentive to curb Workers Compensation costs. Through implementing a few procedures that place Workers Compensation expenses directly on internal departments, employers have more control over prevention and injury management measures that can decrease the severity and frequency of workplace injury. The reduced claims and Workers Compensation premiums add up to a substantial amount of savings.

Safety goals can be met by communicating directly with all potential Workers Compensation employees. Use a claim and injury history to identify high-risk employee groups. Then, on a departmental level, discuss the injury management process with employees. Communication will improve as employees are given a chance to discuss how they feel the job could be performed with less risk of injury. It also gives the employer an opportunity to modify safety procedures or dangers in the work environment, such as faulty equipment or inadequate work protocols that are identified by employees.

A common problem related to workplace injuries is a lack of prompt reporting. Too often supervisors don’t appropriately acknowledge workplace accidents. The hope is that the incident will not result in time off of work or medical expenses. However, putting an initial injury off and not reporting it immediately often actually results in increased costs. Managers and supervisors need to know that they aren’t saving money when they don’t report injuries immediately. One study of more than 50,000 temporary total disability and permanent partial disability claims showed:

• Injuries reported one to two weeks following the incident were 18% more expensive than those reported within a week of the incident.
• Injuries reported three to four weeks after the incident were 30% more expensive than those reported within a week of the incident.
• Injuries reported after four weeks of the incident were 45% more expensive than those reported within a week of the incident.

Showing supervisors and managers statistics such as these will help to ensure timely injury reporting, especially if Workers Compensation costs will be coming out of the departmental budget. Although the goal is prevention of workplace injury, once an employee has been injured, the objective should turn to a timely and safe return to work. This can best be achieved if both employer and employee share a desire to obtain the most effective care, which will help to expedite recovery and a safe return to the job.

Since each department is faced with the claim cost coming out of their own budget, managers and supervisors can take a more active role in assisting injured employees returning to work. For example, instead of the usual claim adjuster or attorney contacting the injured employee, the company concern can be conveyed through the department head(s).

One last element is fraudulent claims. Although deliberate fraudulent claims are a rarity, they do exist. These fraudulent claims will be much more difficult to file when Workers Compensation costs are analyzed departmentally.

Accidents are going to happen. There simply isn’t a way to prevent all accidents and eliminate all claims. But, it is realistic to reduce the frequency and severity of workplace injuries by making the department responsible directly, whether by penalty or by reward, for a safe work environment.