01/31/2007
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John and Glory Bunting |
Safety is serious business at Berlin, Md.-based J&G Maintenance & Repair, a home improvement and remodeling construction firm that Glory Bunting owns with her husband, John. With exposure to risks like stepping on nails and cutting fingers with carpenter's knifes, protecting her five employees from injury is important to Bunting.
And so is the opportunity to earn dividends on her workers' compensation premium, which is why she participates in the NFIB/IWIF Workers' Comp Group Safety Plan. NFIB members in Maryland can now take advantage of IWIF's cost-effective workers' compensation coverage and be eligible for an annual dividend based on performance of the plan.
"I didn't have to change anything," says Bunting, who had already used IWIF for a year before she found out about the NFIB member dividend opportunity. "I was able to stay where I felt comfortable and still have the opportunity to earn dividends."
Safety savings
Her insurance agent, Peggy Byrd of H. Merrill Walters Agency, sees the group safety plan as a win-win opportunity for NFIB members like the Buntings.
"Because IWIF is there making small-business owners aware of ways to improve loss control, it helps their chances of not having losses and earning a dividend," she says. "Representatives from the insurance company can point out safety hazards and offer suggestions about how to control losses."
The group's success is dependent on reducing the cost and frequency of claims across the entire group, and participating employers need to have basic safety programs in place. IWIF and NFIB are available to help employers implement these programs, which are designed to help reduce accidents and improve the effectiveness and morale of employees.
CTS
Not all members qualify for coverage, and members can be removed from the program based on claims experience. Dividends are not guaranteed and must be declared by the IWIF board of directors and approved by the Maryland Department of Insurance.
