Many companies complain about high insurance costs, particularly workers compensation. However, investments of time and money into safety and loss control programs can pay off in the long run.
Some trucking companies choose to rely on their occupational accident coverage, instead of investing in work comp insurance. However, the decision of whether or not to purchase work comp insurance might be an easy one if your state requires the coverage. For example, all Minnesota-based employers are legally obligated to provide insurance coverage to all of their employees. There are also no exemptions to work comp coverage in Minnesota, such as there are in the majority of other states.
For a complete list of state work comp requirements, click here.
Improving Your Safety Culture.
Here are some things you can do to examine the safety attitude at your company:
- Examine your daily agenda and activity calendar – does it reflect a clear commitment to safety goals?
- Ask yourself if you’re able to identify all the loss exposures in your company. Prefabricated checklists are oftentimes too generic to use on an ongoing basis; tailor these lists to your company.
- Plan for loss events. Understand the worst-case scenarios and be aware of hidden costs. Planning may help to relieve some stress when a loss or crisis does happen.
- Recognize that risk managers cannot do their jobs alone. Encourage them to communicate as much information as possible to top management, drivers, and office staff. A well-informed employee group keeps safety top-of-mind.
- Continue to learn! Keep up with changing trends, regulations, and technology that may affect safety in the trucking industry. Today’s skills don’t guarantee tomorrow’s success.
Truck Writers specializes in providing insurance to the trucking industry, but we also work with our clients to form safety programs. Preview our Safety and Compliance Resources.
Truck Writers is also the Third Party Administrator of a Minnesota Workers Compensation Self-Insurance Group. Contact an agent at Truck Writers to learn more about our insurance offerings.