KEY SUMMARY ON INSURANCE ISSUES IN IRISH BUSINESS – Controllable Risk

There has been a 28% increase in reported accidents to the HSA in the last 5 years (things are getting worse)
It is in a business’s interest to stop this trend – the average cost of a workplace accident is approx. €6,000 for a business with 20 staff
85% of all accident are behaviour-based (after a 5-why analysis) but business don’t address behaviour, they focus on simply ‘ticking a box which is not good enough’
High footfall businesses are among the most exposed in this regard because they have a very dynamic risk profile with high traffic and varying hazards
2018 EL Claims: STF is responsible for 23% with MH at 21%. Highest frequency manufacturing (35%), retail (12%) and hospitality (9%) sectors – 70% of EL Claims are made by men
2018 PL Claims: STF is responsible for 76% of PL claims. Highest frequency in retail (19%), hospitality (17%) and sport + leisure (5%) sectors – 66% of PL Claims are made by women
Most business think most claims are fraudulent but this is not the case – we conducted a claims analysis in the retail sector and found that:

15% were suspicious
30% were uncontrollable incidents (e.g. a fall because of footwear)
55% were as a direct result of hazards not being addressed (e.g. the grape on the floor, dog-eared matting, wet surfaces etc.)

It is possible for businesses to ‘buck the trend’ and actually reduce their insurance costs and we have the case-studies to prove it – but they can only ‘separate themselves from the herd’ by taking these key steps:

Manage controllable risk proactively and ensure Safety is a high level KPI in your business
Don’t simply ‘tick the compliance box’ when unsafe behaviours are the real core problem
Tackle the main risks in your sector (e.g. high footfall: STF, Manual Handling)
Seek out insurance partners that value proactive risk management
Engage in quarterly review meetings with your insurance partners

Thought Leadership