Cost reduction is vital to business success. Here’s how you can lower business insurance premiums
Navigating the complexities of business insurance can be daunting, but the good news is that there are actions business owners can take to lower business insurance premiums.
Business insurance premiums are influenced by several factors, including your business’s risk profile. That’s why it’s important to have a high level of communication with your insurance broker: he or she is the one responsible for relaying key data about your business’s risk profile to insurance carriers. The carriers then assess that data to provide a premium estimate. When a business has few claims and demonstrates that it has a safe workplace, it can lower business insurance premiums.
Here are four ways to mitigate your risks and make your business more desirable to insurance carriers.
Create an Employee Handbook and Keep it Updated
Make sure your rules and procedures are up to date and documented in a comprehensive employee handbook that includes your policies to maintain a safe workplace. New hires should receive a copy of the handbook, and all employees should receive an updated copy on an annual basis.
Take the time to review it with your entire team annually to make sure everyone understands your policies and has the chance to ask questions. This review will also help ensure consistency in how rules and procedures are enforced.
Additionally, review your employee handbook at least once a year with your lawyer and insurance agent to make sure it includes current information and any new industry requirements.
Launch a Robust Safety Training Program
With a comprehensive handbook in place that outlines your safety initiatives, the next step is to institute an employee safety training program that offers courses tailored to various roles, such as driver safety. Offer different types of programming to ensure materials are accessible to different learning styles, including options like training videos, in-person workshops, infographics, short quizzes, etc. Be sure to also include the training program as part of employee onboarding.
Not only will you and your clients benefit from a well-trained, safe workforce, this kind of program shows insurance carriers that you take safety seriously and go a step beyond putting rules in a handbook—and this can help lower business insurance premiums.
Prepare for Disaster
It’s impossible to know when disaster will strike, but it’s certainly possible to be prepared. Whether it’s a natural phenomenon such as a flood or tornado, or a manmade disaster such as a fire or chemical spill, an unexpected crisis can disrupt normal operating procedures. Create a disaster preparedness plan that includes information on how you will react to any given situation.
Disaster preparedness plans typically highlight worst-case scenarios and provide instructions for dealing with “what if” situations. What if employees need to work off-site? What if you need to operate with a limited crew? Do you have a communications plan in place? Who is your company spokesperson in a time of crisis? Who will notify employees? What if key data or client information is damaged?
Outline the steps that need to be taken in the event of a crisis, and make sure your staff is trained on the plan. A well thought-out crisis management plan ensures minimal disruption to your business and shows insurance carriers that you are ready to operate as normally as possible if a disaster strikes.
Implement an Internal Safety Audit Program
An annual workplace safety audit helps identify potential safety hazards and ensures that policies are reviewed on a regular basis. Create an audit team composed of employees from each division of the company. This team’s job is to oversee the audit and ensure that it is conducted thoroughly and consistently.
Check to make sure that your personnel are following safety protocols, that equipment is maintained, that the safety training is utilized, etc. As things are assessed, outline a list of follow-up activities to be implemented so that necessary corrections are made and procedures are updated.
Taking a holistic approach to workplace safety benefits your business, your company culture and your clients – your employees will be happier, the work will be performed safely, and it will likely lower business insurance premiums. What’s there to lose?
