Management Consultants Specializing in
Occupational Safety & Health
Error Free Performance
Human Resources
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Management Consultants Specializing in Occupational Safety & Health Error Free Performance Human Resources |
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You mention being particularly adept at doing the loss control work for "specialty programs." What do you bring to programs? Back to Top It is simple, really. If you think about it, the loss control service provided through a program is the single most visible element that shows the target insureds that the program is tailored for them. Through the loss control services, the people who administer the program can demonstrate that they understand the insureds' business, have learned the insureds' language, recognize the unique business challenges the insureds face, and strive to understand the insureds' market pressures, their work force challenges, their products or services, and ultimately the decision making process that moves the insureds toward their own goals and objectives. Well focused loss control activity gives the insureds a clear and accurate impression that the program is a good market for their business because insuring with the program brings significant benefits even if they never make a claim. That's what we bring to a program. We like working as partners in a specialty program because we are driven to fulfill that vision and we work hard to learn all that we can about the target groups' business. We use this knowledge to help the insureds accomplish their own goals, not ours or the insurance company's. We understand that the basis of effective loss control service is "What's good for the Insured is good for the insurance company" rather than the traditional basis that says "What's good for the insurance company (i.e. fewer claims, less losses paid out) is good for the Insured." Granted, this expresses a subtle difference, but it is an important difference if you want the program to be attractive to the target customers! In the course of fulfilling your role as the loss control services provider for a program, what do you actually do? Back to Top We review and analyze the Insured's current activities and results. We do so through interviews with key managers and by analyzing past accident history. Then, we open our ears to what the Insured says are his/her primary problems or challenges and attempt to find ways to overcome those problems or meet those challenges. Of course, when we make consulting calls on insured businesses in the program, we understand that we really have two primary objectives, two different "hats" to wear. One "hat" covers our internal role of gathering pertinent risk assessment information that will help the underwriters determine if this company is a good risk to be included in the program and is properly priced. Our other "hat" covers our role of providing meaningful loss prevention services to the insured. Simply stated, our object in this role is to have the person we meet with come away from the meeting feeling it was time well spent for the direct benefit of improving his or her business – not just in securing a market for insurance but in helping him or her run the business more effectively. Both roles require a thorough knowledge of the type of business the insureds are in, first to assess how well the business is run compared to others in the program and, second, to be able to share all the successful ideas and concepts we have learned through our consultations with other companies in the same business. It is our interest and ability to gain this depth of knowledge about the target industry that makes us valuable to the Insured, sets us apart from other outsource companies, and makes being a partner in a specialty program so attractive to us as a niche. What makes your company different from others in your industry? Back to Top We would like to believe that there are too many differences to list here! One primary difference is that our staff members are salaried, full time employees, who are not compensated on "piece work" or on a commission per case basis. Virtually all of the major loss prevention service companies pay their field people by the case. Our people are not incentivized to push calls through the system. A related issue is that some service companies bill on a time and expense basis. This can cause another type of conflict, one where the company makes more money when it bills more hours, regardless of the need for service. As a result, we prefer to charge on a flat fee basis, not on an hourly rate basis. Often we will agree to cover some initial level of travel expense within this flat fee, billing only when expenses exceed the threshold. This demonstrates to our clients that we have an incentive to control expenses and not live high on their dime. Another difference is that we are selective with respect to the type of work we will accept. We are frankly not interested in doing quick hit underwriting survey work of the type often subcontracted to outside service companies. Naturally, we are in business to make a profit, but we are perhaps a bit unusual in that how we make our money matters to us. We're looking for just a few good clients who want a loss control service partner that truly contributes to their programs. We want few enough clients to be able to make each critically important to our survival so we remain highly responsive and truly focused on each client's goals and objectives, just as if we were direct employees. You mention in your Philosophy section that you like to work with carriers who understand the role of loss control. What do you mean? Back to Top We think that all too often carrier representatives believe that loss control services are supposed to be focused on a problem insured that needs to be "fixed." We believe that this is seldom a successful approach since even the most talented loss control consultant is unlikely to be able to "fix" a problem insured in the course of a few hours. After all, companies take years to develop their own philosophies and styles that reflect the cumulative experience and attitudes of their managers and employees. Anyone who thinks that a single visit from a LC professional will cause a company to suddenly "see the light" is either an incurable optimist or just kidding himself. We want to work with carriers that understand that loss control services are as important, actually even more important, to their good loss ratio insureds than to their customers with less sterling results. Some carriers have come to understand that the way to improve the overall experience of their portfolio is by attracting and retaining the really well run companies. They understand that by spending service dollars to support the activities of good clients, by becoming a trusted and relied upon source for service and advice, a carrier can secure its relationship with a client so firmly that the relationship can be maintained come renewal time even when there is competitive pricing pressure. In fact, our current clients have numerous examples of insureds who have chosen to stay with them despite competitors' significantly lower premium offerings, explicitly because of the value they place on the loss prevention services they have received and the general impression they get that the "program" is truly for them. The carriers who understand this role for loss prevention are the ones we want most to work with. We fit perfectly into this role, for many reasons. One simple reason is that, following our normal philosophy, we can almost always find some area of interest where we can be of assistance to the Insured because we are focused on helping him/her accomplish his/her own goals, not the carrier's or our goals. This approach reflects several of our core beliefs including:
You're right, we are not a large company. In fact, while part of our objective is to remain small enough to allow our people to maintain close relationships with our clients, we also want to remain small enough to keep a lid on overhead so we can give superior, personal service at very appropriate cost. We do this by using technology to enhance communications, to gather and distribute information, and to avoid the need for offices, administrative and clerical support. Our entire staff, including our President, does field consultations. We prepare our own reports, letters and documents; participate in developing materials for seminars and for hand-outs we use during consultations; and do research to learn more and remain technically competent and up-to-date. But more to the point, unlike most companies our size, we do not charge for time spent traveling. Thanks to modern technology, we have the tools to allow our consultants to be almost as productive while traveling as they are at their home base. Additionally, whenever our clients can be flexible on time service, we combine several assignments into trips which allows us to keep the per-case costs almost as low as local travel expenses. As a result, we are able to economically cover the entire country, and we are currently doing so for programs that are national in scope. And, since we typically bear a portion of the travel expense ourselves, we have every incentive to control costs. How do you pay your people? Back to Top All of our consultants are full-time, salaried employees with a full range of employment benefits including medical/dental, life and disability insurance, 401-K plan, and a variety of other employment-based benefits, including worker's compensation. For more information on our philosophical approach to this issue please see "What makes your company different from others in your industry?" Can you accept loss control assignments electronically, such as via the Internet? Back to Top Although Synebar Solutions is a small company, we are rather technically progressive. By being here to read this you see that we have a Web Site and, of course, email. All of our consultants have PCs, scanners and digital cameras, and have been well trained in their use. We would be delighted to receive assignments electronically as well as to return our reports the same way. Anything we can do to reduce the paper blizzard, both for you and for us, will contribute to our mutual efficiency and productivity. How do you deliver completed assignments? Back to Top The short answer is "How do you want them?" We can provide either paper or, as mentioned above, electronic reports in almost any common format. After every consultation, we provide a thorough follow-up report intended for the insured. Typically, follow-up reports take the form of "confirmation letters" which provide a synopsis of the key items discussed during the consultation and include customized, well written recommendations, if indicated by the visit. The confirmation letters can be formatted to go on your own company letterhead, which we believe is the proper way to distribute them to your customers. We also provide customized, detailed reports for you, the carrier, designed to meet the specific needs and concerns of the underwriter. We prefer to send these documents to you via email as attachments so you can quickly route them and/or print them as necessary. By the way, regardless of the form we use , electronic or hard copy, all reports and confirmation letters will contain a proper disclaimer, either yours or ours, whichever you prefer. What about your company's insurance coverage? Back to Top We carry E&O/Professional Liability, Non-owned Auto Liability, and General Liability coverage, all with excellent limits. Of course, we carry Workers' Compensation as per statutes. When we do business, you will get all the details and appropriate certificates. Hey, we all came out of the insurance industry – would you expect anything less of us? |
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