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Jan 04
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Safety FIRST

By Construction Insurance Bulletin

doctor-1015626_960_720“Safety first” doesn’t just mean that safety is important. “Safety first” is actually a suggestion for the order in which things should be done. Before anything else, we should think about safety.

In other words, before you’ve even hired anyone onto a job site, you should have an answer for the following questions:

-Do We Have First Responders On-Site?

Small construction crews typically won’t have on-site paramedics, but this becomes necessary with larger projects. An on-site first-responder can mean the difference between a worker taking a couple weeks off to heal, and a worker needing to collect six months of worker’s comp.

-Where’s the Nearest Hospital?

Make a note of nearby emergency rooms and other medical facilities. It may prove quicker to drive an injured worker directly to the emergency room rather than wait for an ambulance.

-Do You Have a First-Aid Kit?

If there’s no first-aid kit on site, there shouldn’t be any workers on site, either. They’re not that expensive and they’re more than worth the investment.

-Do You Know How to USE a First-Aid Kit?

Do you know how to apply a tourniquet, and more importantly, do you know why you usually shouldn’t apply a tourniquet? You don’t need to go through medical school to be able to put a first-aid kit to use, but you should take the time to familiarize yourself with basic treatment such as how to apply pressure to a wound. You can find some useful information at http://www.ready.gov/kit

-Have Your People Been Trained?

Before anyone so much as picks up a hammer, make sure that everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency: Where to drive, who to call, where the first aid-kit is and so on. Make sure everybody you work with knows the answers to all of the above listed questions.

You should also be sure to make a note of emergency contact numbers and fire exits and to familiarize your staff with these points.

Safety isn’t something you do in response to an emergency, safety is the foundation of the workplace, something that you think about before you think about anything else. You’ll save life and limb by putting safety first, plus you’ll be able to meet your deadline more easily, make it less likely that you have to cash in on your insurance policy, and you’ll save your clients a pretty penny, as well.

 

 

Jan 04
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The Origins of Worker’s Compensation

By Construction Insurance Bulletin

knowledge-1052013_960_720Read about how workers were treated in the old days and it can be a little scary. Few industries were as brutal for the worker as mining, but it’s generally safe to say that companies didn’t really care about the people who worked for them 150 years ago.

That being said, we tend to think of progress as being a straight line: Things used to be bad, now they’re not so bad. In truth, worker’s compensation is a very old concept. As far back as 2050 B.C., ancient Sumerian law dictated that workers be compensated for injuries, with each body part being valued differently. For instance, a thumb was worth only half what a finger was worth.

In the mid-1600’s, the famous pirate Captain Henry Morgan would compensate injured men to the tune of 600 pieces of eight for the right arm, 500 for the left, 500 for the right leg, and 400 for the left. If you’re wondering: Yes, that’s the same Captain Morgan from the rum bottle. Bet you didn’t know he was a working class hero, huh?

Modern worker’s comp laws have their beginnings with Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. von Bismarck created the Employer’s Liability Law of 1871 in order to settle social unrest. By 1884 he would establish Workers’ Accident Insurance, providing monetary compensation as well as medical and rehabilitory considerations. The intention of these laws was primarily to ensure that employers not be hit with civil lawsuits. By giving workers a way to recover and to seek compensation without harming the financial well-being or reputation of their employers.

In the US, modern worker’s compensation dates back to the early 20th Century. With industrialization, workplace injuries began to rise, and worker’s compensation laws proved an effective way to address this. Authors like Upton Sinclair are often cited as major proponents in the push for safer working conditions and worker’s compensation for the American laborer. Sinclair’s book The Jungle detailed fact-based accounts of workers falling into meat grinders and being served to the public… leading to the Food and Drug Administration Act of 1906. The shift in public attitudes was slow going at first, with people showing more concern for their food than for the people producing it.

In 1910, a conference was held in Chicago where the guidelines for compensation law were first established, and then passed into law, first in Wisconsin, in 1911, and spreading to other states, ending with Mississippi in 1948.

Worker’s compensation has been a fundamental principle in most industrialized nations. Many historians actually consider it odd that the US took so long to enact such laws to protect workers.

Jan 04
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Who You Gonna Call? Simplifying Emergency Phone Protocol

By Construction Insurance Bulletin
accident-994006_960_720When an accident occurs on the job, if the very first call being made isn’t to 911, it had better be to the on-site medical staff. There are facilities where a sort of “chain-of-command” procedure is in place for responding to emergencies: The first call is made to the foreman, and then the foreman calls the security guard, and then the security guard calls his boss, and then the boss calls the client, and then once the client gives the greenlight, the security boss calls the nurse, and then… it can be ludicrous how many steps need to be taken before an ambulance can be dispatched to the jobsite.
The most important thing for everyone involved is to get help on the way. This needs to be the first priority. There are other bases that need covered, but every extra second it takes for the first-responders to get there is another second in which a bad situation can get worse. Every other consideration that you have in the event of an emergency will only be compounded by dragging the first-response process out.
In essence: Whatever problems you’re trying to avoid by calling somebody else before you call the on-site medics or 911, you’re not actually going to wind up avoiding those problems if an injury worsens while waiting for all of those calls to go through.
This being said, it is important to coordinate efforts. When someone is hurt on the job, the whole team really needs to function as a unit to ensure that things go smoothly. Someone will likely need to escort first-responders to the injured person, someone will need to contact the client, security, the insurance company and so on. The aim is not to just call 911 and let them handle it, but to streamline the whole process.
A few points to bear in mind when developing a plan for responding to emergency:
– Everyone should know their job, who it is they’re supposed to call to update them on what’s happened.
– First-responders need to be the first people contacted.
– You need to coordinate as you go. If you’ve called 911, send the message down the line that 911 has been called. Keep everyone on the same page.
– The fewer middlemen the better. Don’t turn it into a literal game of Telephone.
In making sure that a bad situation doesn’t get worse, the keyword is: Simplify. 

 

Jan 04
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It’s Not Always In The Manual

By Construction Insurance Bulletin
workers-659885_960_720Not everything you need to know is going to be in the manual. There are a lot of little things that we can do to create a safer workplace that you’re not going to see in every manual and training video.
– Retire your damaged and worn-out tools. You may have an old hammer that you’ve used on every job for fifteen years, you love that hammer and you don’t want to put it to rest, but… when the head flies off and lands where it wants to land, you’ll wish you’d invested in a new one.
– Give people space to work. You don’t need everyone pushing and shoving past each other while carrying power tools. Make sure to space out workstations.
– Keep tools away from heat sources. Leave a pair of pliers on top of a generator and you’re just asking to get burns and blisters when you pick it up next.
– Try to reduce noise and vibration. You’re going to make noise on a jobsite, but power tools with muffled noises and lower vibration will do less damage to the ears and joints.
– Don’t go carrying or yanking any tool by its cord or hose. It’s easy to hand a drill to someone by dangling it off the scaffolding instead of walking down and handing it to them, but it could lead to frayed wires and, eventually, a nasty shock. At the very least, you’re putting undue stress on the tools.
– Maintain good posture. Standing up straight at a workstation means you’re going to be less likely to slip or stumble or drop something on your toes.
– Don’t push the overtime. There’s a reason the workday lasts about eight hours: it’s very hard to be aware and alert after ten, twelve hours of work. Make sure that you’re not pushing your team too hard. Hire a few extra crew members if need be. It will cost you less in the long run than an on-site injury will.
– Don’t skimp on the guardrails. Maybe that platform is only going to be up for two days while you finish up the second floor wiring, but why skimp on the extra hour it would take to give it some guardrails?
– Walk, don’t reach. If something isn’t close enough to grab it, take a step closer, don’t lean to it, especially not on any elevated floor.
– Put the tool back in your belt, not down on a surface. You don’t need to drop your wrench on someone’s head, you don’t need to have someone trip on your hammer, and of course, you don’t want to forget where you put your tools.
Training, experience and common sense are three of the most important ingredients in jobsite safety. Don’t just use the manual, use your head.

 

Jan 04
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5 of the Weirdest Insurance Claims Ever Filed

By Business Protection Bulletin
Ba-Na-NaWhen most people think of insurance claims, they think of things like fire and flooding, illness, auto accidents and so on. Sometimes, insurance is there to protect you against things you never saw coming (and sometimes, people try to get away with the craziest things). Here are five of the weirdest insurance claims ever filed:

Coconut Insurance

Did you know that 150 people are killed every year by falling coconuts? That’s ten times as many annual deaths as we owe to sharks. When British travel agency Club Direct started to offer policies for coconut-related injuries, some laughed, but a vacationer in Sri Lanka actually filed a claim after getting conked with a coconut. The claim was honored in full.

The Great North Carolina Cigar Fires

A North Carolina lawyer bought a box of fine cigars, and took the time to insure them against damages. A month later, he filed a claim, saying that the cigars were lost in a series of “small fires.” You know… like how cigars are normally smoked? The insurance company actually paid up… and then had the lawyer arrested for arson and insurance fraud. Given how many arsonists burn down their own homes and businesses to earn a quick buck, you could say that at least he chose a relatively non-destructive way to try and defraud his insurance company.

Lost Baggage

A cruise ship guest found himself seasick on a luxury tour, and threw up over the side of the boat. His dentures fell out in the process, but good news! The loss was covered under his insurance as “lost baggage.”

How Many Licks Does it Take?

A couple were vacationing in France, touring the peaceful countryside when a herd of cows approached the car and began licking it. The licking damage was so extensive that the car wound up needing a new coat of paint. Luckily, that was covered… somehow.

Monkeying Around

You’ve probably seen videos on Youtube or the Travel channel showing the monkeys in parts of Asia who raid beach resorts and steal booze from the people there, or rummage through their stuff. One couple traveling through Malaysia found a gang of unruly primates strewing their clothing and other luggage around the jungle. Fortunately, this was covered as theft under their insurance policy. No word yet on whether they’ve chosen to press charges against the brazen criminals
Jan 04
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Are You Big Enough for Business Protection?

By Business Protection Bulletin
ProtectionHere’s a general rule of thumb for determining whether your small business is big enough to insure: Would it take you more than a month to rebuild everything from the ground up if your whole business sank right now?

When it comes to businesses that don’t need protecting, we’re talking about companies like software developers comprised of one or two guys on laptops, or garage-space offices you only work in on weekends. Essentially it comes down to whether or not you’ve invested too much to lose into your business.

Some businesses really don’t need much protection. If you are, say, a freelance programmer filing your taxes as a corporation, the worst thing that will usually happen is you forget to back up a day’s worth of coding. Feel free to insure your laptop, but don’t lose sleep over it if you choose not to.

Now, there’s a catch here: Even if your business doesn’t have any assets, that doesn’t mean you have “nothing to lose.” You might not need to protect your business, but you do need to cover yourself against issues of liability, as well as whatever risks come with the terrain in your industry. If you’re running a blog, for instance, you may need to make sure you have a lawyer you can call if someone brings libel charges against you. If you’re recording music in a basement studio, you may need to be concerned with copyright issues. The kind of people who might sue you don’t typically care whether you’re paying them from your personal account or your business account, just so long as the check gets signed.

You could say that there are two stages to getting insured as you build a business:

Protecting Yourself

As soon as you have any sort of office space where someone can slip and fall, you’re going to want to start looking into liability insurance. From there you’ll need to step it up policy-by-policy as you get your foothold into the industry.

Protecting Your Business

Once you’ve built something big enough to lose, you’re going to need to start protecting the business itself.

In addition to insurance, you’re also going to want to seek legal counsel to protect yourself in case you get sued (and to keep from getting sued in the first place). If all of this sounds a little expensive, the good news is that your business won’t need too much protecting until you can afford it. In the meantime, protect yourself. You don’t need a slip-and-fall killing your business before it’s even been built.

 

Jan 04
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Common Business Protection Myths

By Business Protection Bulletin
TruthSometimes, myths and misinformation can be fun. Who cares if UFO’s are real or not? There’s no harm done if you want to believe that a weather balloon is actually an alien spacecraft. There are areas, however, where myths can do a lot of damage. When it comes to something like running a business, you can’t afford to buy into the baloney. Here are a few of the most popular business protection myths that need to be busted:

You Can Dodge A Lawsuit By Closing Your Doors

Many small business owners think along the lines of: “If there’s no business to sue, who are they gonna sue?” Well, the answer is painfully obvious… they’re going to sue you! If your business doesn’t have the assets to cover what the judge says you owe, you have personal assets. Better to invest in protection when you need it than risk giving up your home.

Your Industry Is Risk-Free

Some businesses are riskier than others, but none are risk-free. If you’ve got a sidewalk outside your office, someone can slip on it and get you on the hook with a liability suit. Even if you live in your car and work on your laptop at coffee shops and libraries, what if someone trips over your charger cord? There are always risks to manage.

I Don’t Need Worker’s Comp, It’s Just Me At The Office

In a perfect world, this would be true. Why buy worker’s compensation insurance if you don’t even have workers? However, some states require you to have worker’s comp in place even if you don’t have any employees besides yourself. You’ll have to check the insurance laws in your state before you can say for certain what is and is not required by state law.

Well Non-Profits Certainly Don’t Need Worker’s Comp…

Non-profits typically work with a totally volunteer-based solution to staffing. But, if one of those volunteers is injured on the job, it may still be your responsibility to cover their losses. After all, they were injured while working for you, not at their dayjob.

You Only Need Insurance When Your Client’s Contract Demands It

You may need to buy extra insurance now and then to fulfill a contract, but you’re going to need a basic, adequate policy in place even if you’re between contracts. In many states this is required by law, and in any event, it’s just good business sense to protect yourself against losses.

 

Jan 04
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Investing in Your Staff’s Happiness and Wellbeing

By Business Protection Bulletin

employees-885338_960_720When discussing an employee’s wellbeing, it’s easy to fall into the trap of saying “I pay them a fair wage, don’t I? This is an office, not a dayspa!”

In the short term, this attitude does make sense. Your employees are here to make a living, not to have fun and relax. In the long term, this attitude can cost you a lot of money. More than a few studies have proven that an employee’s mental and emotional condition will have a direct effect on their physical condition. In particular, a stressed employee is at a much greater risk of injury than an employee who’s being met with enough challenge to remain interested, but not so much that they’re being overwhelmed by their responsibilities at work.

Here are some tips to keep your employees in good shape:

  • Hire enough people. Paying one employee to do the work of two employees seems like a great way to save money, right up until they get hurt on the job and they decide to sue you for more than worker’s comp.
  • Give people adequate time off. Most people don’t live to work, we work to live. If you won’t let an employee clock out early to deal with a family emergency, they’re going to be too distracted to do their job correctly anyway. This goes for people who want to put in that overtime, as well. It’s nice to have someone who’s eager to see if they can pull off five 16 hour days in a row, but it’s not smart to let them.
  • Make people feel valued. Send out holiday and birthday gifts to your employees, buy everyone lunch now and then, let them know how important they are to the company. By engendering goodwill, you can not only boost the mood at the office, but make sure that if someone does get injured on the job, they won’t see it as an opportunity to settle a grudge they have against you.
Again, people come to the office to work, not to party and hang out. But from a strictly financial point of view, a happy worker is a healthy worker, and a healthy worker doesn’t cost you anything more than the wages agreed upon in the contract (and maybe a gift certificate to the Olive Garden once a year when their birthday rolls around).

 

Dec 04
Love0

5 Odd Corporate Insurance Policies

By Other

cyber-dec-1There are insurance policies that any sane business owner is going to have to invest in as soon as they have the cash flow to cover them. Then there are those that are… a little out-there. You might never need any of these policies, but it’s good (or at least interesting) to know they’re available in some areas:

Lottery Winner Insurance

Businesses in the United Kingdom have the option to purchase insurance for the event that two or more employees win the National Lottery and quit their dayjobs. The odds of that happening are especially slim when you consider how many lotto winners put their prize in savings and go back to work the next day. But hey, better safe than sorry, right?

Loch Ness Monster Insurance

The Cutty Sark Company has a prize for anyone who can capture the Loch Ness Monster alive to the tune of one and a half million dollars USD. They also have an insurance policy to cover their losses should this happen. We’re not talking proof alone of the monster’s existence, but capturing it alive. Something tells us their insurers aren’t too worried about having to pay out a million and a half bucks anytime soon.

Immaculate Conception Insurance

The Catholic Church insured three of their most valuable nuns against the risk of immaculate conception in 2006 through British Insurance. Sounds weird, but when you think about it, doesn’t every line of work carry with it its own risks?

Abbot and Costello

For Abbot and Costello, their onscreen chemistry was their livelihood. They insured their partnership for about a quarter million dollars in case they ever just couldn’t get along anymore. Insurance to cover bickering employees actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea, come to think of it.

Lloyd’s of London in Hollywood

Lloyd’s of London has a long history with Hollywood, having insured comedic actor Ben Turpin’s famous crossed eyes for twenty grand should they ever uncross, and covering the Oscars with some pretty hefty liability policies, including a thirty eight million policy just to cover the jewelry on display in 2004. All those big stars in one room? That’s a lot of assets on the line for the industry’s money-men.

Some of these policies sound pretty weird, but if you think about it, it’s nice to live in a world where there’s still enough reasonable doubt that you can be insured against the capture of the Loch Ness Monster. Insurance is, after all, all about peace of mind should the worst-case-scenario occur.

Dec 04
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D&O Insurance – Protect Your Key People

By Business Protection Bulletin

bb-dec-2In today’s increasingly complex and litigious business environment, your corporate officers and board of directors – the brains of the company – need protection against personal financial liability arising from their corporate activities.

These people are highly vulnerable to lawsuits by investors, employees, vendors, competitors, customers, regulators and others, alleging misconduct for a wide variety of activities, such as:

  • Providing inaccurate or unlawful advice.
  • Fraud and malfeasance.
  • Misrepresentation of company assets.
  • Failure to comply with workplace laws.
  • Poor hiring decisions. (A Towers Perrin survey found that 40% of all reported D&O claims involved flawed employment practices.)

Directors & Officers Liability (D&O) Insurance will pick up the tab for legal fees, settlements, and other expenses from such litigation. This gives your officers and directors financial peace of mind in carrying out their corporate activities, and provides a valuable incentive for attracting, and keeping quality people who can help grow your business.

There’s a widespread need for this coverage. One in six company executives (17%) surveyed by Inc. Magazine believe that their business will experience a D&O-related loss within the next year.

These policies usually offer two types of coverage known as “sides.” Side A protects directors and officers from personal financial liability if the company is unable to indemnify them. (For example, during a bankruptcy or dissolution.) Side B coverage reimburses the company if it indemnifies directors and officers. (For example, when shareholders file suit against them.) A third coverage – sometimes known as Side C – comes into play when both the company and individual officers and directors face lawsuits.

To learn more about how D&O Insurance can help minimize the financial risks of litigation for your company and your top people, feel free to get in touch with us at any time.

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