Understanding Protective Safeguards Endorsements (PSEs)
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
When it comes to property insurance, it’s not just about securing a policy; it’s about fully understanding its nuances to ensure you have the highest level of protection for all your assets. In some cases, misunderstanding the details of your property coverage can mean the difference between safeguarding your investments and costly oversights.
One often overlooked policy detail is the protective safeguards endorsement (PSE). These endorsements, embedded within many commercial property policies, stipulate specific safety and security measures businesses must uphold. Failure to adhere to these measures can leave your property vulnerable and lead to insurers denying claims when disaster strikes. As such, business owners and property managers must recognize, understand and actively maintain the conditions set by PSEs to ensure the integrity of their insurance coverage and the safety of their commercial property.
What Are Protective Safeguards Endorsements?
In property insurance, PSEs are conditions of coverage requiring policyholders to ensure that specific protective devices and services are installed, maintained and in proper working order. Regarding property insurance, common examples of PSEs include automatic sprinkler systems, automatic fire alarms, burglar alarms, leak detection systems, security services and surveillance systems. If the PSE conditions are not met, the insurer will likely not pay for losses incurred.
For example, if a fire damages a restaurant and a subsequent investigation finds that the sprinklers weren’t functioning properly, an insurer can deny coverage due to a PSE.
The common types of PSEs added to a commercial property policy include:
- Fire protection system endorsement—An endorsement stating losses resulting from fire will not be covered by the insurer if fire alarms, sprinkler systems and other fire prevention systems are not in use or maintained.
- Security systems endorsement—States that security equipment like closed-circuit television (CCTV), motion sensor devices, weapon detection systems and intruder alert notification systems must be operational and retained. It may also require a service contract with security personnel.
- Water detection systems endorsement—Requires the use and upkeep of water detection equipment like water sensors and leak detectors in areas where water damage can occur, including toilets and laundry areas.
- Heating system endorsement—Requires insureds to utilize and maintain hot water radiators, furnaces and boilers, solar heaters and similar devices.
- Automatic commercial cooking exhaust and extinguishing system endorsement—Requires commercial kitchens in the food service industry to operate and maintain automatic fire extinguishers, hood exhaust fans and wet chemical systems.
Implications for Policyholders
PSEs have a variety of implications for policyholders. Chiefly, if an insured has a PSE in their policy, they are responsible for:
- Monitoring protective devices and keeping them in proper working order; and
- Notifying the insurer promptly of any malfunction or impairment of protective devices or services listed in the PSE over which they have control.
Beyond these obligations, there are a number of benefits to PSEs. Notably, since PSEs encourage loss prevention measures, they can positively impact the cost of premiums. In many states, insurers provide a premium discount or credit when such an endorsement is attached to a policy.
Key Considerations for Policyholders
There are essential considerations for policyholders when dealing with PSEs:
- Compliance with endorsement—Policyholders need to meet the conditions of the endorsement to prevent claims denial.
- Periodic inspections—Some endorsements may require regular inspections of protective devices and services.
- Ongoing maintenance—Having protective devices serviced at recommended intervals is necessary to comply with PSEs. Building owners and landlords may need to clarify in their agreements which party is responsible for maintenance duties and how to keep detailed records of maintenance activities.
- Notification responsibility—PSEs mandate that insurers be promptly informed when protective devices are suspended or turned off, even for repairs. It’s essential for policyholders to establish protocols—like where and how to send notices—for proper notification.
- Understanding potential impairments—To ensure that all listed systems, devices and services remain functional, it may be necessary for property owners and tenants to consult experts, such as system vendors or engineers, to learn how non-impairment can be maintained.
- Communication with insurer and broker—Insureds should maintain open dialogue if any change is made to systems or if they have concerns about compliance.
Conclusion
Commercial property insurance policies that have PSEs impose additional duties on insureds. To avoid the hassle of being denied coverage, ensure that protective devices and services are well-maintained and functioning as intended, and notify insurers immediately if these are suspended or impaired.
By taking these necessary steps, property owners, managers and tenants can better protect their interests and ensure they have the coverage they need when it matters most.
Contact us today for more information.
- Published in Blog
Getting the Most Out of Your 2024 Open Enrollment Communications
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
Open enrollment is a crucial period for both employers and employees. It’s when employees can make important decisions about their benefits and an opportunity for employers to engage with their workforce effectively. As organizations continue to adapt to evolving workforce needs and changing regulations in 2024, open enrollment communication becomes more critical than ever.
This article highlights why open enrollment communication matters and provides tips on what to do before, during and after enrollment to maximize its effectiveness.
Why Communication Matters
Although open enrollment is critical, some employees make uneducated decisions or even miss deadlines. Some common reasons for this are that open enrollment information is often full of confusing jargon, employees may not receive enough communication from their employer or they simply don’t understand the enrollment process.
Communication matters because it enables employees to understand the open enrollment process in a clear and assessable manner, which can boost active participation in benefits selection. Employees who feel valued and informed about their benefits are more likely to appreciate their employer’s efforts and stay engaged with their work.
Before Open Enrollment
Educating and informing employees about their benefits package is integral to open enrollment. Effective communication is critical to educate and inform employees about new, returning or expanded benefits options.
Consider the following communication tips before the open enrollment period begins:
- Review previous communications. It can be enlightening for employers to review and evaluate past open enrollment communications to identify what worked and what didn’t. This information can be used to improve the current communication strategy.
- Develop key messaging. After solidifying benefits options, employers need to plan their communication strategies. The first step is figuring out key messaging, focusing on new or updated benefits offerings, and developing FAQs to address common concerns quickly.
- Customize communication. Communication is often more successful when it’s tailored to different employee segments. Consider the needs of various age groups, life stages and demographics within the workforce.
- Gather resources. Before the open enrollment period begins, it’s important for employers to have all the necessary resources—such as printed materials, digital platforms and support staff—ready.
During Open Enrollment
During the open enrollment period, employer communication efforts take center stage, as it’s when employees actively make critical decisions about their benefits. Effectively guiding employees through this process is essential for ensuring they make informed choices that align with their needs and preferences.
Consider the following communication tactics to engage employees during the open enrollment period:
- Vary communication channels. Use multiple communication channels such as email, printed materials, webinars and in-person meetings to reach employees effectively. Not everyone consumes information the same way, so a diverse approach is key.
- Prioritize clear and concise messaging. Open enrollment messaging should be simple and easy to understand. Avoiding HR or benefits-related jargon is best to help make benefits easier to understand. Additionally, many benefits are acronyms, so employers should help decode and explain the alphabet soup to employees.
- Make it digestible. It’s crucial to catch employees’ attention and present the key message immediately before they lose interest. Traditional benefits booklets can be lengthy; instead, employers could deliver bite-sized information to employees through videos and emails. If all open enrollment information is given at once, it’s easy for employees to become overwhelmed and, ultimately, disengage with the information. Digestible communication makes it easy for employees to know what to focus on and take action.
- Use real-world examples. When possible, employers can put benefits offerings in context with real-world scenarios. Employees can relate to stories, so find ways to bring the options to life. For example, instead of describing telemedicine as a 24/7 benefit, highlight that an employee could get health care answers in the middle of the night when they or a child are running a high fever. The chances of employees needing to use health care benefits during the next year are highly likely, so help reiterate the importance of complete coverage.
- Personalize communication. A personalized approach can help employers engage employees with open enrollment information. Additionally, employers may yield better results by personalizing communications to individual employees whenever possible. For example, communications could address employees by name and highlight benefits relevant to their circumstances. This builds off the earlier tip of segmenting employee groups based on age and other factors.
- Remain available. Those leading open enrollment efforts should offer opportunities for employees to ask questions and get clarifications. This can be done through webinars, town hall meetings, dedicated question-and-answer sessions or HR open office hours.
After Open Enrollment
Although open enrollment is the most pivotal time to highlight employee benefits, employers can educate employees throughout the year. Ongoing communication after open enrollment can help employees understand and utilize their available benefits.
Consider the following communication strategies after the open enrollment deadline passes:
- Follow up. Although the enrollment period is over, employers can continue communicating with employees to remind them of their choices and deadlines. Additionally, they can send reminders about important events or changes to benefits.
- Collect feedback. Gather feedback from employees about the open enrollment process. Surveys or focus groups can be used to understand what worked well and where improvements can be made.
- Evaluate and optimize. As with any workplace effort, analyzing the outcomes of open enrollment communication efforts is important. Check if goals were achieved and use the data to refine next year’s strategy.
- Provide ongoing education. Employers shouldn’t limit communication to just the open enrollment period. They can periodically remind employees of the benefits and resources available to them.
Summary
Open enrollment communication is a crucial aspect of benefits administration that directly impacts employees’ well-being and satisfaction. By planning, customizing communications and continually improving their approach, employers can make the most out of their 2024 open enrollment period. Effective communication helps employees make informed choices and strengthens their connection with the organization, leading to a happier and more engaged workforce.
Contact us for additional open enrollment support.
- Published in Blog
OSHA Launches New Compliance Initiative to Protect Stone Fabrication Workers from Silica Exposure
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
On Sept. 22, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a new initiative focused on enhancing enforcement and providing compliance assistance to protect workers in the engineered stone fabrication and installation industries. This policy is effective as of the date of this memorandum and will be ongoing until otherwise directed.
Silica Hazard
OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health identify silica dust exposure as a health hazard for workers involved in manufacturing, finishing and installing natural and manufactured stone, including man-made, engineered artificial and cultured types of stone.
When inhaled, tiny crystalline silica particles expose workers to the risk of silicosis, an incurable, progressively disabling and sometimes fatal lung disease. Unsafe silica dust exposure can also lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or kidney disease.
Compliance Initiative Overview
Supplementing OSHA’s current National Emphasis Program for Respirable Crystalline Silica, this initiative focuses enforcement efforts on industry employers to ensure they’re following required safety standards and providing workers with the protections required to keep them healthy. It establishes procedures for prioritizing federal OSHA inspections to identify and ensure prompt abatement of hazards in covered industries where workers face exposure to high levels of silica dust.
Industries subject to the prioritized programmed inspections include those engaged in cut stone and stone product manufacturing, as well as brick, stone and related construction material merchant wholesalers. Outreach efforts will continue to include additional industries that may work with engineered stone. Programmed inspections will be prioritized in the following two NAICS codes:
- 327991 – Cut Stone and Stone Product Manufacturing; and
- 423320 – Brick, Stone, and Related Construction Material Merchant Wholesalers.
OSHA area offices will focus enforcement efforts on these two NAICS codes using the targeting and site selection procedures outlined below. This initiative requires each area office in regions 1 through 8 to complete a minimum of five programmed inspections (i.e., targeting sites selected from NAICS 327991 and 423320) of establishments working with engineered stone within 12 months from the date of this initiative.
Workers involved in manufacturing, finishing and installing manufactured stone countertops are at risk for significant crystalline silica exposure. Facilities in NAICS codes 327991 or 423320 may be selected for inspection under this initiative if they meet one of the following criteria for work processes:
- Manufacturing and/or finishing engineered or manufactured stone products at the facility; and
- Finishing and/or installing engineered or manufactured stone products off-site.
Activities occurring at manufacturing, finishing engineered or manufactured stone facilities include:
- Cutting, grinding, chipping, sanding, drilling and polishing engineered or manufactured stone products
- Opening bags of ground quartz, moving or mixing bulk raw materials, cleaning and scraping mixers, or cleaning dust collector bag houses
- Changing filters on dust collectors
- Making the engineered or cultured slabs—involves mixing crystalline silica, resins and pigments
- Operating powered hand tools such as saws, grinders and high-speed polishers
- Casting departments that mix and heat raw materials, including silica sand (which comprises more than 70% of each countertop by weight), epoxy resin, PA (a known respiratory sensitizer) and pigments
Employer Next Steps
Affected employers and stakeholders should become familiar with this OSHA initiative by studying the memorandum and the fact sheets on dust control methods and safer work practices for engineered stone manufacturing, finishing and installation operations. These employers should also review the OSHA silica standards and ensure their operations comply with the required regulations and prevent employee exposure to silica.
- Published in Blog
Understanding How Habits Work to Influence Safety
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
As an employer, safety is your responsibility, and it’s important to identify workplace hazards and instill safe employee habits to ensure corrections remain permanent. One way to accomplish this is through behavioral observation, as it can help identify unsafe acts and conditions within a workplace, giving employers insight into potentially dangerous work habits. This article discusses how habits are created, how to change employee habits and ways to identify which behaviors need to change.
Understanding Habits
Habits can be formed in two ways: Through a traumatic psychological experience—such as accidentally touching a hot stove and learning never to do it again—or through repetitive actions the brain turns into automatic function. According to the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, habits make up approximately 40% of human behavior. In terms of workplace safety, it can be difficult to unlearn bad habits employees have formed.
One technique used for creating good habits is known as the “Habit Loop,” in which each behavior within the loop works to form a habit. There are three components that comprise the Habit Loop: A cue, a routine and a reward. For example, getting into a car (the cue), putting on a seatbelt (the routine) and not getting a ticket from the police (the reward) is an example of a Habit Loop. Managers can capitalize on this strategy to help employees form new habits or change old ones.
How to Change Employee Habits
Bad habits can easily become routine if previous outcomes of the action have not been negative. By the time a company notices, the unhealthy behavior may already be ingrained within the worker. To change unsafe habits and mitigate negative outcomes, it’s important to understand which Stage of Change a worker is in.
The Stage of Change theory suggests that a lack of motivation, willpower or confidence may not be to blame when it comes to someone’s inability to change—but rather that someone may not be ready to change or may not recognize that they need to. Understanding a worker’s readiness to change may be the key to determining how to approach moving them along the stages of change. The following are the stages of change and how employers can influence an employee at that stage:
- Pre-contemplation—At this stage, employees are unaware a problem or risk exists. To influence someone at this stage, it’s important to educate and bring awareness to the problem or concern.
- Contemplation—The contemplation stage refers to employees who are starting to consider or thinking about making a change. Continued education and ongoing opportunities for self-evaluation can help employees in this stage.
- Preparation—At this point, employees have decided to make a change in order to move into a new situation. This is an easy phase to get stuck as employees may be unwilling or unable to make the initial step to change. To help employees in this stage, it’s important to evaluate employees on an individual level and determine their intrinsic motivation. Focus on the person, not the company’s wants or needs.
- Action—Here, an employee may start to change their environment, behavior or experience. Managers should provide encouragement, recognition and ongoing positive reinforcement during this stage.
- Maintenance—Now that change has happened and become part of a normal routine, employees may be able to experience the positive outcomes of their actions. It’s important to continue to acknowledge and reinforce the positive change.
How to Identify Which Behaviors to Change
Unsafe behavior must first be identified in order to be corrected. Some ways to determine if behaviors should change include behavioral safety audits and accident investigation reports. After a problem is identified, the employer can work to adjust the behavior causing the safety issue. Once an issue is found and addressed, the employer should follow up to ensure the changes are being followed. By prioritizing follow-up on behavior issues, a workplace can start seeing improvements in practices and possibly a reduction in injuries.
Conclusion
Habits can be hard to break. However, with the proper approach, managers can alter unsafe workplace behavior and create a safer working environment. For more risk management guidance, contact us today.
- Published in Blog