Author: McGriff Williams

What if you were told your construction company could be fined up to $132,589?

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Business Insurance, Human Resources |

As this year’s Construction Safety Week wraps up, let’s look at some pretty staggering statistics relating to jobsite and workplace safety, as well as some new-age solutions to these age-old problems.

– The average cost of a slip or trip injury causing time away from work: $46,000 {National Safety Council}
– It is estimated that the amount of near misses that go unreported is up to 85% {MakuSafe}
– The Top 2 OSHA citations were for lack of fall protection systems and insufficient information transmitted to employers and employees regarding toxic and hazardous substances {ThinkHR}
– OSHA penalties range from $13,260 (other-than-serious & serious) to $132,589 (repeat & willful) {ThinkHR}
– 20% of private-industry worker fatalities are in construction {Big Rentz}
– Construction sees non-fatal injury rates that are 71% higher than any other industry {Accident Analysis & Prevention}

So what can we learn from all of this and how can the construction industry do better to stay safe?

– Construction companies can save $4-6 in indirect costs for every $1 invested in direct costs by evading an injury in the workplace
– Creating and implementing training programs such as how to properly wear PPE, general awareness and classes provided by OSHA would reduce the amount of employee injury but also be wise financially Construction site injuries typically account for 69% of project costs, while health and safety programs only account for 2.5% of project costs
– Utilizing safety and machine operating checklists as well as hazardous material communications will facilitate consistency and reduce liability exposure
– Maintaining a safe environment will help build a positive reputation, assist with brand awareness and recruiting, and promote team morale

How does technology play a part? There are newer systems and protocols that could help prevent and protect construction companies from safety issues. Things such as:

– Wearables (think arm holster or watch) that can monitor conditions, detect slips/trips/falls quickly, report near-misses without interruption, etc.
– Digital trainings available at any time to any size group
– Live stream cameras with recording for monitoring or later verification of procedures or events
– Telematics installed on heavy equipment that could include front and rear facing cameras and operational details of the equipment
– Systems to analyze safety inspection data in order to implement change

We can all agree that safety in construction is a problem and something to take seriously. It’s a risky environment with constant movement, equipment and people coming on and off the jobsite. Taking every step possible to mitigate injuries is worth every penny these precautions could cost. What steps do you have in place for your team?

Key Person Insurance: How it Works and Why it’s Important

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Business Insurance, Life Insurance |

Most of us understand the importance of life insurance when you consider your family’s well-being and financial security. But what about the businesses left behind when an owner or principal passes, no longer able to maintain that company’s success? Or having the financial burden of finding a replacement for that person?

Key person life insurance is when a business purchases life insurance on an individual that is an asset to the company’s operation and success. Often times, this is an owner or principal in which not just anyone can replace at any given time. A key personis someone that contributes creativity, operational management, knowledge, inspiration, relationships, etc that is crucial to the viability of the company.
A business can be the beneficiary and also pay the premium of the policy. Sometimes this is also referred to as business life insurance because it’s protecting the business in the event this very important and necessary person is deceased.

There are a couple of very real circumstances in which this type of coverage is considered:

– If a financial institution or creditor needs collateral for a loan that the business is applying for and requires the option of putting a lien on a key person policy. This is also called collateral assignment.

– If there are two or more partners that co-own the business together, this type of coverage would assist the partners in buying out the other’s shares if they die. This is also considered part of the buy-sell agreement as the life insurance would help fund buying out the deceased partners’ family members.

There isn’t a perfect formula to calculate how much key person insurance a company needs. One good way to estimate it is to have an idea of the immediate financial burdens the company could face if that person stops doing what they’re doing. An example would be someone in a Business Development role that could bring any growth to a screeching halt. Or someone with a reputation or connection that is the sole reason a big client does business with them. Another consideration, more for sole proprietors, is what amount of debt the company has that would need to be paid off if its doors were to close unexpectedly.

It’s highly likely that this key type of person has invested a large amount of time, effort, energy and heart into the company they either own or work for. There’s no better way to be sure their legacy lives on than having that business protected and stable when their time comes to leave it behind.

 

Back to School – What Does it Mean for Employee Leave?

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Business Insurance, McGriff-Williams News |

Across the country, students are getting back in the groove of classes, whether in-person or virtually. It’s been five months since there’s been a real routine with school, making this yet another transition period for parents and business owners.

The Department of Labor released a compilation of Frequently Asked Questions regarding employee leave under the FFCRA that may be helpful to you as your workplace and workflows are affected by this. Here are some examples or you can view the full list here.

– If I am home with my child because his or her school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, do I get paid sick leave, expanded family and medical leave, or both how do they interact?
You may be eligible for both types of leave, but only for a total of twelve weeks of paid leave. You may take both paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave to care for your child whose school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 related reasons. The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act provides for an initial two weeks of paid leave. This period thus covers the first ten workdays of expanded family and medical leave, which are otherwise unpaid under the Emergency and Family Medical Leave Expansion Act unless you elect to use existing vacation, personal, or medical or sick leave under your employer’s policy. After the first ten workdays have elapsed, you will receive 2/3 of your regular rate of pay for the hours you would have been scheduled to work in the subsequent ten weeks under the Emergency and Family Medical Leave Expansion Act. *Please note that you can only receive the additional ten weeks of expanded family and medical leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act for leave to care for your child whose school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 related reasons.

– My child’s school or place of care has moved to online instruction or to another model in which children are expected or required to complete assignments at home. Is it closed?
Yes. If the physical location where your child received instruction or care is now closed, the school or place of care is closed for purposes of paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave. This is true even if some or all instruction is being provided online or whether, through another format such as distance learning, your child is still expected or required to complete assignments.

 

Achieving Financial Peace of Mind – Even in a Year Like 2020

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Life Insurance, McGriff-Williams News |

You may be thinking to yourself that 2020 hasn’t been very kind or generous to us. It’s been an interesting year full of unknowns, fears, hardship and change for so many. But let’s highlight and be thankful for the silver lining of this year so far. 2020 has given us time to reflect, prioritize and think about what matters most. But back to the reality is that it’s also given us some fear and anxiety about potential, unexpected illness. In that regard, the positive takeaway we can focus on is that we should be as prepared as possible in the event something bad happens to us. While this can mean lots of different things, a key point is that we need to feel certain that our family would be okay and financially stable if we were to leave this place sooner than planned. In comes the importance of life insurance.

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month and what better time to remind ourselves, given this year’s pandemic circumstances, how terrible it would be on our loved ones if we didn’t have them taken care of when we pass.

Life insurance is often times less expensive than people realize, especially if you apply sooner than later at a young age. It can help pay off debts that you leave behind that would be a significant financial burden to your family such as a mortgage, credit cards, car loans and even funeral expenses. Help with those bills sounds pretty priceless, right?

Just in July, Lincoln Financial surveyed 1,004 U.S. adults ages 18 or older. 36% said the pandemic makes owning life insurance more important. 9% said they had changed the type of coverage they own in response to COVID-19. 12% said they had increased their life insurance coverage in response to COVID-19.

Even in a year unlike 2020 that maybe hasn’t presented risk or susceptibility to illness, it’s still something everyone should at least consider. Now that things have slowed down a little, it’s the perfect time to look into it. Here’s a great tool to get an idea of what your premium would be for a life insurance policy tailored to your needs: Quick life quote

Vehicle Telematics: the tattletales of driving habits

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Auto Insurance, Business Insurance, Insurance |

The words Fleet Management may make some business owners’ skin crawl but it’s one of those things they just can’t ignore. For most companies, this is a key aspect of their overall operations and something that needs constant attention.

Some commercial insurance companies are providing Fleet Monitoring premium discounts for the use of telematics, with the hopes that it will reduce the amount of claims and incidents within their commercial auto fleet.

Telematics refers to technology such as front facing cameras, sensors, GPS, and vehicle engine diagnostics. These devices can effectively monitor driving behaviors such as location, hard braking, rapid acceleration, speeding and hard cornering. Identifying these habits is an important element of commercial auto insurance, especially given the increasing rates lately.

The results of these telematics can help determine the risk, along with appropriate pricing and proactive loss control. Some of the technology can even alert the driver itself in real-time of any unacceptable driving behaviors to prevent an accident or injury. Vehicle engine diagnostics also helps tremendously with monitoring things like the health of the vehicle, for example: oil life, fuel efficiency, tire pressure, engine or fluid needs, etc. This is yet another part of fleet management that can be very time consuming and stressful on a business owner/manager.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the amount of fatal crashes involving large trucks and/or buses has increased by 42% since 2009. Ironically, technology such as cell phones could have contributed to that and here we are, talking about technology of other forms to help prevent it. But isn’t that our reality now All things technology? But shouldn’t we be open to anything that can get that number back down? While telematics are optional for now, it could be very soon that they are actually required and that may not be a bad thing.