General liability insurance protects companies from claims of loss from third parties. It may cover a variety of injuries or property damage. It usually does not provide coverage for employee injury or loss.
However, your employees can be a key reason why you have to file this type of business insurance claim. People make mistakes. Many times, those mistakes can cause others to suffer. Proper insurance helps cover those losses. Businesses should work to reduce the risk of these types of claims occurring. Proper employee training is key.
Determine Key Areas of Concern for Your Company
Businesses filing general liability insurance claims should recognize patterns or trends in employee mistakes or claims. These are areas to target in your employee training programs. Common mistakes are critical to fix.
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Which areas of your business operations are employees most likely to struggle with?
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Have you filed an insurance claim for a specific type of loss more than once?
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Is there a high-risk service or product you are providing to your customers?
Identify areas of risk. Your insurance agent can help you to do this. The key is to understand where the risks are to your customers due to the actions (or inaction) of your employees.
Develop Key Training Programs
Once you identify areas of risk, the next step is to form a training program to address those areas. Ensure every employee goes through the training methods. This type of training does not have to be long, costly to the company or time-consuming. It should provide specific information about the risks that employees pose to others. It should also tell employees the right way to do something, and how to confirm they did the job properly.
For example, a customer requires a battery installation. Teach the employee how to do the job properly. Show them the risks of mistakes such as fire or damage to the system. Demonstrate the proper method and then follow up. Require reporting of services as necessary or required. Once you put in place protocols for actions, follow up on them. Be sure that the proper steps to completing the job occur every time. It is in this type of consistency that good habits form. And, this will help to reduce losses suffered by your customers.
From mopping the floor to installing high-tech systems, provide your employees with careful risk management training. Doing this reduces risks to others. It helps you avoid general liability insurance claims. It can help business owners to keep insurance costs in check, too. For more information on general liability insurance, give our agents a call, or check out our online resources.