Business Benefits of Insurance

Employee Recruitment, Retention and Wellness

Providing health insurance to employees is a valuable tool to attract and retain the best employees. It also makes your company more attractive if your coverage is more comprehensive than that of your competitors. It’s not unusual for employees to stick with a particular job or employer, even if it is not their ideal job, because the health care coverage is comprehensive and affordable.

Companies benefit in many areas when their health coverage includes wellness features to promote such things as healthy eating, smoking cessation and exercise. During a study conducted for Pitney Bowes from 2002 to 2004 by The Center for Value Based Health Management, the company experienced a 50 drop in the number of disability days due to diabetes, and a 38 percent drop in the number of hospital admissions for employees with asthma, simply by incorporating a comprehensive wellness and preventative care program.

In today’s litigious society, businesses have to incorporate safeguards to protect themselves from outside lawsuits. A product recall, a food product that causes an illness, a car that fails to operate safely and causes a loss of life or limb, exemplify how devastating the results can be for businesses without liability insurance protection.

Even if your company is diligent about complying with federal regulations regarding discrimination, sexual harassment and unfair hiring, lawsuits are filed everyday. Employment Practices insurance covers the company for these occurrences, and can be structured to additionally cover legal costs.

Second only to its employees, a business’s structure, warehouse, products and property are important to insure. Business owners should make it a point to check out insurance companies that specialize in commercial property and casualty insurance. These companies know how to assess the importance and value of machinery, equipment, and inventory. They will also assess needs for accident liability coverage to comply with federal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) laws.

There are a host of benefits and reasons why to comply with business insurance requirements imposed by both financial and government agencies.

Financial service providers, especially banks and investors, may tie-up access to capital and financing when insurance requirements are not met. So it is of great benefit and importance to get the types and levels of coverage that meet their specifications.

Government agencies (federal, state, and local) can impose fines, restrictions, and cancel required licenses that could virtually shut operations down.

Health care reform legislation passed in 2010, signed by President Barack Obama as the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” will perhaps have the biggest impact on business insurance needs. One major benefit is that companies will gain tax credits. Small businesses will get a credit up to 35 percent of premium cost. Perhaps the biggest benefit of all is the potential to foster a healthier and more productive workforce pool for every business in America.

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