R&R Insurance Blog

1. Cooperate in setting up the appointment. If the Loss Control Consultant has to make several calls, it sets up a poor first impression.
2. Provide enough time to do the survey. Ask how long the Loss Control Consultant needs to adequately cover all the questions.
3. Provide multiple contacts if necessary.The Loss Control Consultant can get more details from someone more closely related to the issue. Examples: Your Quality Control Director can handle the Products Liability part of the survey; your Maintenance Manager can handle the Property questions/tour; your Traffic Manager can handle the questions on the fleet. Make sure that the additional contacts understand the value of the loss control visit and the importance of the information being relayed. Your additional contacts should beon the same page with you.
4. State all of the positives about your organization, your programs,your efforts. You may want to make some basic notes to make sure you talk about any positive things you are doing.
5. Be open to suggestions made during the visit. If you react negatively to suggestions, the report may label you as “uncooperative”.
6. Have materials ready that you know will be needed such as a property diagram, vehicle list, sprinkler testing info. etc. Showing that you value and respect their time goes a long way.
7. If there are any questions that you can’t answer during the visit, be sure to get the answers and relay them as quickly as possible. An answer of “I don’t know” is seen negatively in their eyes.
8. If there is a weakness that has not been addressed or cannot be explained, it is good to ask for help. Carriers see this as a company who is “cooperative” and they like to partner with these companies.

See Questions you can Expect on a Loss Control Visit.

Here are some topics that are generally covered in a loss control visit. If there are any questions you can't answer during the visit, be sure to get the answers and relay them as quickly as possible. An answer of "I don't know" can be taken negatively.

Operations:

• Detailed Description of Operations
• Any subcontracted work to others?
• Are certificates of Insurance obtained?
• Any significant changes in management or operations?

Fleet/Automobile:

• Number and type of vehicles used
• Radius of operations
• Maintenance of vehicles

Exposures and Controls:

• Type of equipment or machinery used in operations
• Machine guarding adequate?
• Are material handling exposures managed?
• Any ergonomic issues?
• Height, slip and fall or confined space issues

Employees/Hiring:

• Total # of employees – full time/part time/average age
• Source of employee hire
• Employment physicals or drug testing
• Annual turnover
• Any previous layoffs or future potential for layoffs?
• Average wages / Average tenure
• Health benefits
• Early return to work / type of program in place

For each Workers Compensation claim, an adjuster will open a file for the injured worker and set aside money specifically for the estimated cost of the claim.

Over the life of the file some money is spent and the remaining amount set aside is in "reserve". This reserve amount should represent the remaining cost of that claim.

Open Reserves
The dollars sitting in open reserves for your WC claims impact your Experience Modification. It is critical that these reserves be reviewed prior to the data being reported to the WC Rating Bureau.

If the actual cost of the claim will be less than the initial "estimated" cost, then the adjuster should lower the reserve. Lowering the reserve will help your Experience Modification.

When is the data reported?
Your WC carriers for the prior three years will report claim data to the WC Rating Bureau six months before your insurance renews. Open claim reserves should be verified prior to that date.

Interstate Roofing has saved $1.3 million in premium since beginning their MOD management efforts with R&R Insurance.

“I can’t begin to explain what Jamie and R&R have done for us. In 2002 PLM had a mod factor of 1.15. We now boast a .69 mod. We have a fantastic safety program and a 45% reduction in premium. This reduction occurred during a huge company growth period.”
Grant Pozorski
Parking Lot Maintenance, Inc.

“Having Jamie as an agent has been one of the most beneficial steps I have done for my company. Jamie is not only knowledgeable in the field, but he also helps me become more proactive in my business insurance needs regarding risk exposure. He is a great facilitator between the carrier and the client so they can both come up with better solutions for running a business.”

Cheryl Sment
Interstate Sealant & Concrete, Inc.

“Jamie Vanderveldt has been very helpful and informative in the time we have worked with him. Jamie has been instrumental in helping us focus on ways to reduce our workers comp costs. He has earned our confidence as a result of his thoroughness and expertise. I appreciate his friendly and helpful attitude.”
Joe Donovan
Donovan Jorgenson Inc.

“R&R Insurance provides us with a proactive approach to managing our Workers Comp costs. Their claims review process positively impacts our bottom line. They proactively close out claims which most recently caused $23,000 to be added to our variable dividend. They play an important role on our team by always providing highly responsive service when we need it. They not only provide us with the answers to our tough insurance questions, but help us to gain an understanding of the underlying issues. With their help, we now understand that a properly managed Workers’ Comp program will provide us with a competitive advantage!”

Seth Mickelson
Marriott Construction, Inc.

“R&R’s knowledge and experience with workers compensation had an immediate effect on our insurance costs. Their continued efforts on monitoring our safety practices and working on our behalf with insurance companies keeps us competitive. Our MOD rating has done nothing but go down since we’ve partnered with R&R.”

Tom Schaus
Schaus Roofing, Inc

“Jamie Vanderveldt and the staff of R&R Insurance have been invaluable in assisting our company through the process of updating our risk management program. Having a strategic business partner like Jamie who is well versed in contractual and insurance risk-allocation practices has been a great asset in the ever-evolving construction industry.

While a premium has always been put on safety with our company, Jamie and his staff have taken our safety program to a new level with the development and implementation of a new formal written general safety program, fleet safety program and on-site training of supervisors which was completed in conjunction with John Brengosz.”

Anthony Maas
Maas Bros Construction Co.