February - March 2008
reduce risks and cut costs
New service: Risk Inspection
By Lorna Kaaloa, First Insurance
Someone once said that success in business – and in life – always involves risk. In fact, risks are unavoidable, they’re everywhere you turn. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t minimize risks wherever you can. A quality safety program can benefit any company by reducing accidents and injuries, lowering insurance costs, boosting productivity and increasing profit.
In the past, insurance companies offered risk inspections only to their clients.
Now, these services are also available to anyone across Hawaii who seeks to minimize risks. All these services are available, for a fee, to businesses of any type, including building management,
Risk-detection technology
Risk-control consultants use the latest technology to detect a wide variety
of risks. These include:
• Infrared scanning of building electrical distribution systems
to detect “hot spots,” often behind a wall or above a ceiling,
that can lead to electrical failures that could spark a fire.
• Floor surface “slip resistance” testing. Slips and
falls are the most common cause of general liability claims and the second
most frequent type of workers’ compensation loss.
• Noise level measurement. This monitors decibel levels in order
to identify noise-producing sources that could lead to hearing impairment.
On-site underwriting risk assessment
This
is an in-depth analysis of the risks and vulnerabilities that lurk in
any business. A comprehensive assessment of operations, policies and procedures
is conducted to produce a detailed and informative report that will facilitate
underwriting the
best insurance plan to cover the identified risks.
Risk-improvement consultative service
This is a “personalized” approach that focuses on a client’s unique business and operational needs so as to reduce losses and maximize profits. To meet these goals, risk-control consultants collaboratively develop a service plan with the client and/or its independent insurance agent to address specific, targeted risk-control activities. Their work is evaluated and measured periodically with the customer to ensure satisfaction with the progress of the service plan and with the overall cost savings that an effective risk-improvement program can produce.
Work-site audit
This audit monitors work-site practices to ensure that daily operations and employee work practices are being performed as specified by the company’s policies and procedures and in accordance with federal, state and county regulations.
Employee, supervisor and management training
Risk-control consultants customize training programs, such as managers’ and supervisors’ accountability or impact of injury to bottom-line costs, to address each client’s specific operations and exposures.
If you would like to better control risk, and not simply manage it, you may wish to confer with a risk-control consultant who can help you identify and minimize your potential for loss.
Lorna
Kaaloa is the Risk Control – Executive Marketing Specialist at First
Insurance Company of Hawaii. First Insurance Company of Hawaii can not
only provide superior service in identifying, evaluating and minimizing
risk, but also help businesses create safer, more loss-resistant operations.
