Category: Property & Casualty

Hiring Safe Drivers for Commercial Vehicles

The majority of auto accidents are caused by driver error, whether it be following too closely, speeding, driving distracted, driving under the influence or a variety of other reasons.  As a business owner, you have control over who operates your vehicles and you should take this responsibility seriously.  Don’t underestimate the importance of making sure you are hiring a safe driver before you allow them to operate one of your fleet.  Always have an applicant sign a waiver permitting you to obtain a motor vehicle record (MVR) before you make a hiring decision.  If there is any doubt about the acceptability of the record, forward it to your Risk Advisor or insurance company for their guidance before allowing the applicant to drive a commercial vehicle.

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Drones for Commercial Use What You Should Know Before Taking Your Company to the Skies

Few technology gadgets have the potential of the modern-day drone – potential for exciting, innovative uses, but also potential for risk. Known sometimes by its more descriptive name, quadcopter, or its official name, Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), the drone continues to increase in popularity for both recreational and commercial purposes.

While today’s drones may seem easy to operate, enjoying the benefits of this emerging technology is not nearly as simple as unboxing and launching your “eye in the sky”. Business owners and purchasing agents who believe a drone might be a useful addition to their operations should weigh the risks and understand the regulations and requirements associated with commercial drone use.

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Controlling Risks for Property Owners

   
Losses that occur on property you own can affect your livelihood and that of your tenants.  They also can affect your insurance rates and eligibility.  Without the proper controls in place, you could be saddled with the responsibility of owing for injury or damages that you did not cause.

Recognize The Risks

When you understand the risks you face as a property owner and lessor, you can better manage them.  Consider these scenarios:

Natural perils – A tornado sweeps through town, damaging your building and your tenants’ contents.

Fire – A grease fire starts in a restaurant at one end of your building.  Before it is extinguished, fire damages multiple units and tenant contents.

Third-party injury or illness – A patron slips and falls in the parking lot, spraining her ankle.

Change in occupancy – A restaurant replaces a retail store in one of your units.  As a property owner, you want to determine if the current sprinkler system is able to handle the demands of a restaurant.

Change in tenant operations – A retail craft store expands its operations to include pottery making.  With this expansion, your tenant adds kilns to heat-treat ceramic projects.

Vacancy – Your unoccupied building is vandalized, resulting in damaged property.
  
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OSHA Recordkeeping

It’s that time again … time to prepare and post your company’s OSHA 300 Log information. Since it may have been a year since you’ve thought about your OSHA 300 Log, here is a refresher about the requirements.

What is an OSHA 300 Log?

Your OSHA 300 Log is a log of your company’s work related injuries/illnesses and must be maintained on a calendar year basis. There are a few low-hazard industries that are exempted from these requirements but most companies in construction, manufacturing and transportation with more than 10 employees at any time during the calendar year must maintain the log. One of the purposes of the log is to capture data from many industries to develop national statistical data on injuries by NAISC (North American Industry Classification System) industry codes.

•  The OSHA 300A is the summary of the data on your OSHA 300 log. The 300A is what employers are required to post in a conspicuous location from February 1 to April 30 every year.

•  The OSHA 301 form provides the injury details. Most state’s First Report of Injury forms satisfy the 301 requirement.

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