3 Workers Comp Tips for Garage Insurance in NC

Workers Comp? But you know all about that?

Right?  Well, you probably think you do.  But there are some important things you may not have considered that could be incredibly important to how your business is protected from employee accidents and injuries.

Let’s dig a little into Workers Comp and see what you’re missing.

The first thing we should discuss will be WHAT you are doing to prevent accidents.

The second thing is WHO has your workers comp coverage.

The third thing is WHEN your last quote was with your agent.

What do I mean?  Let’s check it out.

Tip #1 – Preventing Accidents

That sounds too easy.  But the sad fact of the matter is that all too often we see clients ignore pushing safety at the workplace because they think it is only another expense, or that they are too small for it to make a different.

They couldn’t be more wrong.  The only real way you can make your workers comp insurance less expensive is by avoiding claims!

One of the primary ways that Workers Comp price is determined is by experience modification factor.  And one of the ways that it determines price is by how long it has been since you’ve had a claim.

The fewer claims (or injuries on the job), the less you pay.  Simple.

Making sure that your shop is up to OSHA’s standards and that employees are trained in the safety practices that will keep them safe are the only ways that you can chip away at the cost of workers comp for your auto business.

Think it’s impossible, or at the very least too difficult?  One shop in Arizona actually made an entire web page about safety to educate their customers and other businesses! CHECK IT OUT.

Other organizations in your area may have resources to help you stay on top of safety requirements .  CHECK THIS OUT.

The bottom line is that there is no better way than to control the cost of workers comp insurance than by instituting a safety program and keeping your employees from injuring themselves on the job.

Tip #2 – Who’s got your back?

Many auto dealers and auto body shops get insurance when they first start a business, or at least when they get big enough to buy the policies required by law.  Workers comp is no exception.  And if you’re like most mechanics or born salesmen, the last thing you want to think about is insurance.

After all, you didn’t become an insurance agent, did you?

We encounter people all the time who set up their workers comp insurance with either their initial agent years ago or, even worse, someone they just found online for the cheapest possible and then promptly forgot about them.

Do you know who does your workers comp insurance?  Can you picture them in your mind?  Have you spoken with them in a few weeks? Months? Years?

Garage insurance is best when viewed as a package, a collection of policies that all compliment one another.  Without that great overview, it is easy to miss certain things.  You also find that an agent really get’s to know you and can assist you better with that knowledge.

I like to think of a package policy as a suit of armor.  While one piece of coverage or policy covers the head, another covers the chest, and the legs, and so on.  Having different people cover different parts of your body is just a confused mess.

So reach out to your primary agent and see if they do your workers comp.  Don’t have a primary agent?  That could be your problem right there.

Which leads us to our last tip.

Tip #3 – Get a Workers Comp review.  Now.

When is the last time your primary agent actually looked over your review?  Last year?  A few years ago?  EVER?

You need to get a regular workers comp review every three years?  Why?  Because your experience modification factor can change in that time, and if you aren’t checking in with your agent to see if there is good news, you may be missing out.

Not only that, but there may be other changes with your business that could affect the price AND what the coverage does for you – such as number of employees, payroll, etc.

And the crazy thing is that this may not take that much out of your day.  You can usually do this through a five minutes phone conversation and a quick email of your current documents.  That’s it.

There really is no excuse for not checking up on this every few years and making sure you are insured properly – and for the right amount.

Let’s wrap it up.

Three simple things can make a dramatic different.  You take incredibly good care of your business.  Taking care of your employees and your workers comp insurance are natural extensions of that same care.

Some of you reading this won’t have talked to your agent in quite a while.  Or you found something in here (or in our other garage insurance blogs and videos) that made you realize that maybe you need a second opinion.

You owe it to yourself to check in with one of our agents who specialize in garage insurance to see exactly what you’ve got – and what you’re missing.

Click on the link below to schedule a time to talk with one of them today.  It could be the different between you saving some money, or avoiding a massively expensive claim.