How’s My Driving?

One of the largest risks a health care business will face is when employees are driving. This risk occurs when an employee is driving to meet with a customer on a sales call, driving to one or more patient homes or simply running an errand for your business.

Automobile accidents result in the highest frequency of injuries, and those injuries are typically the costliest in the workplace. Because of this risk, commercial auto insurance coverage is usually more expensive and more difficult to obtain than personal auto insurance. There are a few things businesses can do to mitigate this problem, starting with a well-documented motor vehicle safety program.

There are many reasons such a program can benefit your company—the least of which has to do with your insurance premiums. Below is a list of benefits your business can obtain from incorporating a motor vehicle safety program.

• Reduce motor vehicle incident rates
   
• Reduce missed work time for employees due to injury
   
• Improve productivity by keeping employees safe
   
• Protect your brand by improving public perception of your company’s driving practices
   
• Control liability costs associated with work-related vehicle crashes
   
• Reduce insurance premiums and fleet repair bills
   
• Decrease workers’ compensation claims
   

A motor vehicle safety program can be managed in many different ways. Depending on the type of driving your employees do, you may need to adjust the program to fit the needs of your business. For a safety program to be successful, there are a few important items it should include. Support and buy-in from senior management is paramount with any safety program. If senior leadership is not committed to the new plan, it will show and the attitude will trickle down throughout the company. Having written policies and procedures—along with clear disciplinary actions for violations—help to make implementing the program easier for management. Requiring employees to take the training program and sign a commitment to follow the policy will create a partnership between the company and each employee. It is also a helpful record in the event an employee does not follow your detailed guidelines.

Any motor vehicle safety program should start by requiring all drivers to have an up-to-date driving record and personal insurance on file at all times. This is a must for any employee who operates a vehicle as part of their daily business routine. Acquiring the employee’s driving record should be part of the hiring process, and the record should be checked at least once a year. Some employers have found it useful to require potential employees to provide this record during the interview process or at the date of hire. Requiring this can weed out some applicants who have unsafe driving records. Pulling driving records annually is crucial as well. It is best to pull the records for all drivers at the same time, not on the employee’s hire anniversary. Trying to do this task at each employee’s anniversary date is a headache for you and/or human resources, because it makes it much easier for someone to fall through the cracks. January is a common time when many business owners do this, but choose a time of year that works best for you.

After documenting your employees’ motor vehicle records, it is important to have a proper driver safety training program in place. Having this training as a part of the onboarding process for new employees and then renewing training periodically for all employees can help your business in several ways. First, it can help to prevent automobile accidents and it lets your employees know that their safety is a priority. Second, having a training program in place can help your business get discounts on your commercial insurance policy. Finally, the right safety program can prevent your business from losing insurance coverage altogether when you inevitably have a claim. Claims do happen—even to the safest businesses and drivers. When a claim occurs, what you pay in premiums can be affected. If you have proper safety programs and documentations in place, the effect on your premium may be limited.

To complete a vehicle safety training program, there must be a documented way to respond when a car accident does occur. First and foremost, you need to make it clear to your employees that their health—and the health of anyone else involved in an accident—is more important than any consumable goods. Once assured of the health and well-being of everyone involved, there needs to be a clear set of actions your employees take. You should provide some type of wording to them about what to say to media regarding an accident. One common statement is,”I want you to have accurate information. At this time, I cannot speak to you about this incident. A representative from the company will contact you at a later date.” The phrase can be changed to suit your business, but some phrase should be in place and it should be a part of your training program.

Next, employees should notify management that an accident has occurred. You can change the chain of notification to suit your needs, or as directed by your insurance company, but the procedure needs to be in writing. (It is a good idea to place a copy of the procedure inside vehicles if your business provides company vehicles for employees.) Once management is made aware of an accident, they need to contact the insurance carrier as soon as possible. It is best to contact your carrier and not your direct agent. The carrier has the infrastructure in place to help you deal with the process of filing a claim. Also, they have the knowledge and expertise to help your injured employee get the proper medical care as quickly as possible. If a specialist is needed, the carrier is able to direct your employee to the proper facility. Once your employee is recovering from the injury, the carrier can also implement a return-to-work program if your business does not have one in place. (A return-to-work program is something to have in place alongside a safety-training program, but if you do not have the expertise to implement one, this is something your insurance provider can help you setup.)

Pulling motor vehicle records and having a well-documented safety program in place shows that your business is doing its due diligence to prevent accidents. Separate from how this affects your insurance policy, it is simply the right thing to do. Healthy employees are more productive employees. This helps your business’s bottom line by having your employees on the job and not at home dealing with an injury. Having these programs in place will let your employees know you care about them and their well-being, too. It can also help your business get better insurance coverage, at a better price.