Category: Property & Casualty

OSHA Final Rule: Walking-Working Surfaces & Personal Fall Protection Systems

OSHA has issued its final rule on Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Fall Protection Systems to better protect workers in general industry from slip, trip and fall hazards. The final rule updates and clarifies standards and adds training and inspection requirements. The final rule became effective on January 17, 2017; however, OSHA is allowing delayed or phased-in compliance dates for several requirements in the final rule. States with OSHA-approved state plans have six months to adopt standards that are at least as effective as Federal OSHA standards. Many state plans adopt standards identical to OSHA, but some state plans may have different or more stringent requirements. 

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Safety Improvements For Petroleum Marketers

Each year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) releases a list of their “Most Wanted” safety improvements. The 2017-18 list includes several recommended improvements that are directly related to the work of petroleum marketers.

In my experience working with multiple petroleum marketers, I have seen the negative business impacts that a work-related accident or injury can create. Implementing these recommendations from the NTSB can improve your risk performance and, ultimately, your bottom line. 

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Disaster Recovery Planning Considerations

Natural disasters can come in many forms, with the most common being related to windstorms, fires and flooding. More tornadoes occur in the United States than in any other part of the world. While large-scale disasters capture media attention, disasters can also be local in nature, such as electrical blackouts from lightning strikes or a vehicle collision with a power line. Such events can cause significant disruption to your operations.

With proper planning, downtime and loss of revenue can be kept to a minimum and operations quickly restored. A formal disaster recovery plan is critical to ensure continual operations for your business, and should incorporate the following elements: 

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Affordable Housing Insights A Unique Industry Providing Real Solutions for Communities

Over the last several years, I have had the privilege of helping manage the risk of several organizations working to provide affordable housing options for low-income households. This experience has given me great insight into the unique aspects of this complex industry, as well as a passion to advocate for the organizations and individuals working in this space.

The Need for Affordable Housing is Increasing

Today’s demand for rental properties of all types is unprecedented. According to a study by the Joint Center For Housing Studies of Harvard University, 37 percent of all U.S. households are now renters – the highest level since the mid-1960s. The study also reveals that the largest and fastest growing segment of the exploding rental market is comprised of households earning less than $25,000 annually.   And while the number of renter households rose 40 percent from 2003-2013, the number of low-cost rental units increased by just 10 percent. It is clear that the need for more affordable housing is great.

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Top Risk Concerns for Businesses and Individuals

Business leaders and consumers share many common concerns, according to data compiled from the 2016 Travelers Risk Index. The annual survey found that cyber risk is still considered one of the greatest risks facing both Americans and American businesses. And while businesses worry more about the implications of getting hacked, consumers are primarily concerned about personal privacy loss, identity fraud and cyber threats.

Top Business Risk Concerns

Medical cost inflation, increasing employee benefit costs and cyber-related technology risks/data breaches again topped the Travelers Risk Index for business concerns in 2016, although the overall proportion who felt the business environment is becoming more risky declined slightly from 2015 to 2016, from 44 percent to 41 percent. 

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