Abstract

Forum Communications Company (FCC) has been executing an injury prevention strategy by working side by side with their insurance broker, Aon Risk Solutions (Aon) and their insurers. The initial relationship focused on compliance related issues, with Aon acting as the primary coordinator; abbreviated audits were completed by the insurers. To compound the situation, FCC, like many in the news industry, was experiencing declining sales as a result of consumer preference for digital versus printed media, so FCC and Aon felt that unless a change was made, underwriter appetite for the FCC risk would continue to diminish, and FCC would be at the "mercy" of the insurance marketplace.

FCC realized the incremental improvements in their safety program and the insurer appetite for their Worker's Compensation risk were not in line with other businesses having designated and dedicated safety resources, and in early 2010 created a new refined Corporate Safety Program with a dedicated Safety Coordinator Position at the company.

This Corporate Safety Coordinator position allowed Aon and the insurer team members an opportunity to set service expectations and objectives to ensure all resources would be used to the fullest and have the greatest impact. Since the development of this safety program, FCC has seen overall attention to safety result in premium decreases of nearly &230,000, increased management attention, and an increased insurer appetite for the FCC risk. During this time, two additional facilities were added to the organization through acquisition, and equivalent programs were started at these facilities as well.

Forum Communications Company (FCC) Safety Program Development Approach

In looking to develop a Safety Program for Forum Communications, an attempt was made to push the emphasis from the "Reactive" or "Post Injury" functions of safety activities to more "Proactive" or "Prevention" functions. Traditionally, we found that like many other companies struggling to control injury costs that the emphasis was far too great on the reactive activities of injuries, including the claims filing and reporting process, treatment/preferred provider programs, return to work program, and others. We sought to look at safety from a different angle and to see what types of activities could prevent having to file claims in the first place.

As a starting point, we had decided to create a corporate safety program modeled after the State of Minnesota's "A Workplace Accident and Injury Reduction" Program (AWAIR). This would be the key to aligned programs throughout our business operations in order to focus on a comprehensive safety initiative going forward.

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