Sidvokodvo- Businesses that can demonstrate sustained improvements in workplace safety may have greater leverage when negotiating insurance coverage, including the price and terms of their policies.
According to Portia Hlophe from Eswatini Royal Insuarance Company (ESRIC) the connection goes beyond the number of workplace injuries. Insurers can use a company’s safety record as an indication of how well it manages broader risks, including its people, assets, liabilities and ability to continue operating when something goes wrong.
Speaking on Thursday during the Safety Indaba held at The Luke Cimmission Events Centre at Sidvokodvo discusion on anchoring business to safety, Hlophe said insurers viewed workplace safety as a window into an organisation’s overall risk maturity.
A company with a functioning safety programme, she said, was likely to demonstrate stronger systems for managing its day-to-day operations and reducing the frequency and severity of incidents.
“Demonstrated risk improvement” could influence underwriting, pricing and the terms offered by an insurer, she said.
The distinction is important because a strong safety record does not necessarily mean a company will receive cheaper insurance.
Instead, businesses that can demonstrate effective safety systems and improvements may be in a stronger position to negotiate the conditions attached to their coverage.
The panel also drew a line between insurance and prevention.
Insurance, she said, should be regarded as a mechanism for transferring financial risk after preventive measures have been put in place, rather than as a replacement for those measures.
The discussion formed part of a broader examination of how companies can move safety from written policies and compliance documents into their daily operations.
For companies, the challenge is therefore not simply whether safety policies exist, but whether they continue to influence decisions when operating conditions become difficult.
The discussion also highlighted the role of management systems and certification in demonstrating that safety practices are being implemented rather than merely documented
Discussion about this post