Workers Compensation Insurance: How Safe Is Your Workplace?

A safe workplace is obviously essential for your employees' health and well-being, but it is also important when you consider the insurance costs for workers compensation insurance. Making sure your workplace is as safe as possible is typically inexpensive and takes very little time regardless of your business. Every penny and minute spent on identifying and preventing hazards can be worth thousands of dollars if there is an accident on your business premises for which you are found to be negligent. Depending on your type of business, remember that this applies for employees and customers alike.

The first step is identifying the hazards in your workplace. Knowing what potential hazards you, your employees, and the public may encounter is critical to implementing effective preventative measures and reducing workers compensation insurance costs. Here are a few of the ways you can identify hazards in your workplace:

--Ask employees: Depending on the nature of your business, employees may be your best source of information since they're responsible for carrying out the tasks your business needs to function. They are probably well aware of any risks and hazards in their daily duties, so they're your first line of defense.

--Perform safety checks: Assess the daily tasks that could cause harm and communicate these risks to staff that may not know the potential hazards.

--Review past on-the-job injuries: Examine any illnesses or injuries that you've already experienced, including their frequency and severity, so you know the best way to use your resources.

While all businesses have safety issues specific to their industry, there are many common hazards that can affect any company. Most studies place trips, slips, and falls as one-third of all major workplace injuries, the most common cause of injuries at work. Legal actions for failing to have insurance to cover workers compensation as a result of these types of injuries can be devastating to your business.

Whether you run a mechanic's shop or an office, pay close attention to these common workplace hazards that, if ignored, can result in a workers compensation insurance claim:

--Look for slip and trip hazards, such as uneven floors, trailing cables, and floors that are often wet. Make sure the workplace is cleaned regularly and that spills are cleaned-up immediately. Even if your business seems impervious to these risks, think about the worst thing that could happen to your business and how much you may have to pay in the event of an injury.

--Be aware of electrical hazards: If any employees interact with electrical machinery, you obviously need to ensure that regular maintenance is performed on all electrical areas of your business that may come into contact with your employees and customers.