R&R Insurance Blog

“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.

R&R Insurance's Resource Center has put together a 2009 vs. 2010 class code rate comparison detailing the percentage increase or decrease.

Class code rates are determined by the amount of dollars spent on work-related injuries in a particular class code (typically by insurance carriers) which are then reported to the WCRB. All companies in Wisconsin contribute to the rate change of a particular class code. Therefore, if you and other businesses with the same class codes had a good safety record over the past few years, you all benefit by receiving a decreased class code rate per $100 of payroll. You can see that change in a class code like 3082 - Steel Foundries - Almost a $4 decrease per $100 of payroll.

We often comment that you can't control the rates in WI - they are what they are, and the only things that change the price of your work comp premium is the experience mod, and the workers compensation dividend (which have been ultra-aggressive this year). But, as an industry, you do impact the overall rate based on your individual performance and contribution to the "whole."

One more thought..
The WCRB sets the premium rate for each class with the approval of the Commissioner of Insurance. If you feel that your business is not properly classified or the premium charge is not proper, you can appeal to the WCRB for review of your situation. If you are still not satisfied with the WCRB’s decision, you may request, in writing, that the Commissioner of Insurance hold a hearing to review the WCRB’s decision.

A job safety analysis (JSA) is not always best left only to a safety supervisor. Your workers' experience in doing a job gives them superb knowledge of what can go wrong from a safety and health standpoint.

While some hazards can be obvious to everyone, many workers probably encounter situations that haven't been considered by others. Your workers' insights are vital.

Conducting a JSA is also valuable as a training guide for new employees, a "refresher" for existing employees and as a tool for determining why an incident happened.

John Brengosz, loss prevention specialist at R&R, is a resource I consistently offer to my clients as he has extensive experience in conducting JSA's. The other piece is that John has a real talent for getting supervisors to "buy into" the process, which can often times be half the battle. Currently, I have a client doing JSA's department by department and the response by the supervisors and the employees has been terrific. Now, evaluating the work station at the beginning of a worker's shift has simply become a natural "step one" before work begins - It's just a part of the culture!

If you would like to know more about how we help our clients conduct JSA's, keep their employees more safe, and ultimately, make them more profitable, please contact me.

A loading dock worker was loading drywall onto a flatbed truck when a forklift being operated by a co-worker surged forward, fatally pinning him against the truck.

At another workplace, a textile plant supervisor was operating a forklift truck when another forklift fell from a loading dock, causing the supervisor's forklift to flip over. He was crushed under the roll cage and died.

And elsewhere, a warehouse worker died after he was crushed between a reversing semi-trailer and a loading dock. Investigators believe that he was likely paying more attention to the contents of the trailer than to where he was standing.

Loading docks are busy places where machine operators and truck drivers must perform a delicate dance around workers on foot. Along with being congested, loading docks may also be poorly lit, slippery, cramped, crowded with debris, riddled with blind spots and crisscrossed with ramps, stairways and uneven surfaces.

Here are just 5 of the possible hazards:

1. Slips, trips and falls;
2. The possibility of workers on foot being struck by vehicles;
3. Being crushed by unstable loads that shift suddenly;
4. The possibility of a forklift driving over the edge of the dock and having it or its load land on workers below; and
5. The possibility of a trailer whose wheels aren't properly chocked creeping forward or backward into workers.

Loading docks are a hub of activity. Workers need to be trained on how they can protect themselves. If you would like to know more about how R&R is helping keep its clients more safe in this particular area, please contact a knowledge broker.

“Jamie, on behalf of New Berlin Grading, Inc., thank you for the service you and R&R Insurance have given our account. Through your professional and personal attention to our needs and challenges we have been able to lower our EMR from a .99 to a .65. We attribute this success to the direct efforts of you and the resource team.”

Dennis Schmit
New Berlin Grading, Inc.

Like many young companies in the construction industry Squared Away Builders, Inc. concentrated on working hard, staying busy and taking care of their customers. This left little or no time to manage other things like workman’s compensation insurance premiums. In the case of Squared Away, learning how to manage workers compensation insurance was one key to lowering costs, making the company more safe and enabling the company to become proactive instead of reactive when it came to workman’s comp.

A feeling of helplessness…
“When it came to work comp there was an inherent feeling of helplessness” says Brett Wittig, President of Squared Away Builders, Inc. “As a small business you try to do the best you can managing your employees while managing your business for profit at the same time and when the WC premium rolled around it felt like a slap in the face. We had been working hard all year, concentrating on the basics of running a business and it felt like we were helpless and couldn’t do anything about this large premium.”

We didn’t know what was coming…

“After our third year in business, we knew our modifier was 1.71 but we had no idea where this number came from, how it was determined or how it affected our premiums directly. We did know however after three years of large premiums that we had to do something to lower our costs if we wanted to stay competitive.”

The search for knowledge…
“Frustrated about work comp but still trying to concentrate on making a profit and taking care of our employees Bill Katzfey caught our attention. His philosophy of creating a knowledge based culture change in our organization in order to help manage work comp costs was something that Squared Away needed. What’s more important was that Bill was able to give us the knowledge, specifically in regards to the construction industry, which we needed as a company in order to make that culture change. R&R Insurance Services has given us and continues to give us a solid understanding of what it truly costs to have an injured worker”, states Dan Wittig, Operations Manager.

The difference it has made…
“We have had the program we designed with the knowledge and techniques provided by R&R for three years now and we finally are seeing the benefits. We have used the premium savings to invest in our employees and in the future of our company. There is no doubt in my mind that we would not be in the position we are in today without the help and knowledge of R&R Insurance Services has provided us.”

“Since 2001 we have been applying the concepts that R&R teaches in their WC seminar. It took a lot of hard work, consistent communication of a solid message and a little patience.”

Brett & Dan Wittig
Squared Away Builders