How reducing accidents at work can save your insurance costs

CLA (Risk Solutions) Ltd

If you are an employer, a self-employed person or are in control of your workplace premises, you are required by law to report certain workplace incidents.

These include occupational diseases, specified dangerous occurrences (near misses) and acts of non-consensual violence to people at work.

What is RIDDOR The initials RIDDOR stand for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.

Accidents must be reported online using the relevant form for the type of incident you are reporting.

For fatal accidents or accidents resulting is specified injuries to workers only, you can call 0345 300 9923. A report form must be sent within 10 days of the accident occurring or if the accident results in an employee being unable to work for 7 days or more, within 15 days of the incident.

Occupational diseases such as exposure to carcinogens, mutagens or biological agents must be notified to HSE (Health and Safety Executive) as soon as a diagnosis is made.

It is a criminal offence if the person responsible for reporting these accidents fails to notify HSE. If found guilty they could face an unlimited fine.

There have been some recent changes to the HSE suite of RIDDOR forms.

The main change affecting reporters is that a copy of the form will no longer be automatically sent back to the notifier; they will have to download a PDF copy themselves.

To maintain a record of what was reported, users must remember to download the PDF, otherwise they will not have a record of what they reported.

Insurance cover and premiums

Your insurance policies will cover you for:

• Accidents involving vehicles.
• Third-party accidents (usually) included on your building’s insurance.
• Employers liability insurance for injuries and ill health to your employees whilst at work.

This is compulsory. If you have a poor health and safety record and are making multiple claims against your insurance policies, this will lead to an increase in premiums.

Some providers may even refuse to offer insurance cover.

However, a good management system with documented training records and risk assessments will help reduce insurance premiums by demonstrating your commitment to health and safety and minimising the risks to your employees.

CLA (Risk Solutions) has teamed up with Safety2Business who have developed an online portal “Health and Safety Assist” to provide you with a raft of resources to help you manage your safety documentation.

With the knowledge that your business is using this platform to manage your health and safety risks and reduce the cause of accidents, CLA can source the most competitive quote for your insurance renewal.

For a complete breakdown of what the portal can offer visit the Health and Safety Assist page on our website www.clarisksolutions.co.uk/health-and-safety-assist

Areas that may not be covered by insurance

Your employers liability insurance will cover injury as a result of an accident or illness to your employees; however, there are some costs related to an incident that may not be covered:

• Sick pay.
• Replacement labour costs.
• Delays to production.
• Fines.
• Loss of business.
• Insurance investigation costs.
• Legal costs.

There is additional insurance that you can take out to cover some of the above if you believe these risks could cause long term damage your business.

For more information call 0121 321 4600 and speak to one of our team.