Beware of Pumping and Pedaling
While trying to mind my own business as I was getting my nails done this week, three young gals who had just had babies came in for a pedicure and sat right behind me. They talked for about twenty minutes about breast milk pumping. One complained about finding the time to pump. “How long is your commute?” one asks the time-strapped mother. “15 minutes,” she answers. “Oh, that’s not long enough to pump,” the advisor says.
“I want to read that police report,” I said to the gal doing my nails. A woman sitting a few chairs away said to me, “Oh, they do it all the time,” meaning the young women who breastfeed, I guess.
Something Tells Me It’s All Happening At the Zoo
Then the gal with time constraints said, “Well, we’re going to the zoo tomorrow, so I can do it then.” I couldn’t resist, at that point, not knowing if she meant she would pump while she walked among the giraffes or on the trip there, so I said, “Well, at least you’ll be among mammals.” They didn’t find that amusing.
I posted this conversation on my Facebook page because I found it so amusing and completely bewildering. The comments I received made me realize: pumping and pedaling is not an anomaly. One gal told me her friend’s daughter told her teacher she wanted to be when she grew up, “Just like my mom. She can breastfeed the baby, eat a hamburger, and drive with her knee, all at the same time.”
What Else Goes Wrong Behind the Wheel?
So if your employees are pedaling and pumping, I wondered what else they might be doing behind the wheel that might impact the small business owner. Since I’ve been out of front-line claims handling for a number of years, I decided to ask some of my friends who handle claims. Here are some things they find in police reports as they investigate claims.
- In a long-haul trucking accident that involved fatalities, the truck driver was reviewing pornography as he drove. He drove over the top of another vehicle, resulting in several fatalities.
- Shaving and driving are frequently reported.
- One adjuster reported his insured activated cruise control in a recreational vehicle then headed for a nap.
- Reading at stop signs is a frequent problem in accidents.
- Eating behind the wheel also contributes to many accidents.
How to Avoid Pumping and Pedaling and Other Unsafe Driving Habits
There are many things people do wrong when driving. How can you stress the importance of safe driving to your employees? Here are a few tips.
- Set the expectation at employee orientation that safe driving, whether at home or at work, is critical to job performance. How employees drive in their own vehicles is a direct indicator of how they will drive yours.
- Put safe driving reminders in pay stubs from time to time.
- Have employees sign a form when they use a pool car that clearly states they will wear their seat belts and obey all rules of the road.
- Let all employees know how much accidents cost your company. While you don’t have to identify the employee who had the accident, in your next meeting, for example, tell employees, “The accident where we rear-ended another vehicle cost over $120,000 to settle.” Employees understand money.
- Hold employees accountable for at-fault accidents. Make it clear in your personnel policies that any failure to work safely, including driving safely, can mean discipline up to and including termination.
Know Your Employees’ Driving Habits
From time to time, ride with your employees. Do they tailgate? Do they chat more than they drive? If so, a company-wide driver training may be in order. National Safety Council offers driver training in most states. One auto accident can devastate your loss history, so money spent to prevent auto and other accidents almost always pays for itself.
In the case of breast-pumping and driving, I cannot even fathom how to avoid this exposure. Perhaps your female managers who have had children can take your lactating Madonnas aside and offer some advice. Good luck with that.
Latest Cavalcade of Risk Posted
The latest Cavalcade of Risk is posted with my new article about wacky insurance claims submitted in 2011 included.
View it here.
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With years of experience writing White Papers and advertising collateral for the insurance industry, we know how to position you in your unique industry niche. Contact us for more information about how a White Paper can help you stand out in a crowd.
Cavalcade of Risk #144 is a Turkey!
Since this is the closest the Cavalcade of Risk will come to Thanksgiving this year, what better topic than “turkey” risk problems? While not all blog entries conform to this juicy topic, here are a few that do. In that tone, let’s begin with my Allbusiness blog post, “Consider the Total Cost of Jerks to Your Organization.” In it I discuss how much one human turkey in the workplace can actually cost your organization.
In “The Truth is Stranger than Fiction” category, Jon Coppelman of Workers’ Comp Insider, presents “Turkey Shoot.” This post discusses a case of an insurance investigator shot by the claimant he was investigating, allegedly after being mistaken for a turkey. The truth is often stranger than fiction, isn’t it?
Next, we move to another big turkey that is making the excess market sit up and notice just a bit on the topic of climate change. Have you ever asked yourself if Mother Nature could disrupt your business? This is an old tale for many companies who make their homes in states that regularly experience extreme weather—but what about the rest of us? Read “GRC Preparedness in a Changing Climate” on the Risk Management Monitor written by Alex Bender here.
We move on to some of the biggest turkeys of them all: mortgage makers. At Insurance Bad Faith Claims Bad Faith Law Blog, Dennis Wall updates “Good Faith: Homeowners Betrayed, Banks Unreal: California Investigates, Refuses Pre-Immunity.” His posting presents a reality-based review of why there should be a settlement in the talks between State Attorneys General and financial institutions which are, at one and the same time, Mortgage Loan servicers and originators. This settlement would include all claims based on anything other than the original conditions of the talks. What reasons do the Attorneys General have for even considering a Release of All Claims including claims not yet made and that they have not yet investigated? Read more to learn how Dennis Wall really feels.
As the Supreme Court announces its intent to ponder the national health care debate and those fortunate enough to have group health ponder high-deductible savings accounts and what that means to their budget, Louise Norris presents an interesting look at opting out of group health for individual coverage. Be sure to read her entry, “More Flexibility With An Individual Health Insurance Plan,” posted at Colorado Health Insurance Insider.
In our next post on Disease Management Care, Dr. Jaan Sidorov examines Medicare’s efforts at reducing costly readmissions. It turns out that it’s not only difficult to identify those patients who are likely to be readmitted, but the math necessary to compare readmission rates across hospitals is in its infancy. Dr. Sidorov argues in “Medicare Hospital Re-Admissions: Bad,” that while Medicare’s program is well meaning, this is another example of policy running out ahead of reality.
Medicare will start paying hospitals more which receive high marks for patient satisfaction. What steps are hospitals taking to avert the risk that they receive low scores? The Healthcare Economist weighs in with “Medicare to Hospitals: The Patient is Always Right.”
And as long as we’re talking about healthcare, Hank Stern asks the timely question: “Have you considered the risk of disability and how it might affect your ability to earn a living?” InsureBlog has some thoughts on how to manage that risk. As someone who became quite ill without disability coverage, I can tell you this is a question we should all consider. Read “Are You Protected” and take heed.
That is all the entries we have this time. Have a safe and secure Thanksgiving.
Latest Cavalcade of Risk is Posted
The latest Cavalcade of Risk is posted. Read some great risk vignettes and my article on controlling pharma specialty costs here.
The Latest Cavalcade of Risk Posted
For a great risk roundup, click here.
Develop a Style Guide to Build Your Brand
If you have many people sending emails, writing letters or developing proposals, it may be time for your company to develop a style guide. What is a style guide? It is a multi-page document that standardizes your employees’ use of grammar and style. It helps a company ensure their documents look professional and conform to your company’s “brand.” Why pay someone all that money to develop a logo, a theme and your website then not link your written communications to that brand?
The first few pages of a style guide are normally devoted to standard punctuation, grammar and capitalization styles. Then in-depth information follows to address style and presentation matters. For example, how often do your employees use a hyphenated term like “workers’ compensation”? Or is it “worker’s compensation”? Heaven forbid, they use “workman’s compensation.” Or what about hyphenated words, like “Call our toll-free number”? If you consider all the words and phrases normally used in your business communications, you can see that a style guide helps you develop consistency in your communications.
How do you develop a style guide? First, ask your insurance carriers if they have one developed that you can adopt for your agency. That may make the most sense. If not, put together a committee of a few good writers in your organization and let them do the work. There are many style-guide recommendations on the web found easily with a web search. Then look at some of your most frequently developed documents, both internal and external, to determine the phrases you use most frequently.
Alternatively, you can hire an editor to develop one for you. You can always ask them to provide their best recommendations and tweak them for your organization. If you would like to discuss this or other copywriting issues, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Read This Roundup of Cavalcade of Risk!
Great articles by many gifted risk thinkers. They are also kind enough to include me. See the Roundup here.
Cavalcade of Risk Posted
The latest Cavalcade of Risk is posted! Read a roundup of some of bright thinkers, and my column on the no-win position doctors often find themselves in when faced with return to work issues.
My Allbusiness Blog Continues to Gather Readers
My Allbusiness blog, Risk Management for the 21st Century, continues to gather readers. Some are agents and other risk management types, but many readers are business managers seeking better ways to manage risk. I post a new entry, usually about 500 to 600 words in length, about every ten days. Here is the link. Take a look.