Posted By Harry Shane I'd always been told that if you had a good safety system in place it would reduce insurance premiums. I've never come across any evidence of that - although no doubt others have. However, we recently gained a client who couldn't get their insurance renewed with the same insurer unless they had proper arrangements in place (60 employees and previously they had nothing at all)and which had to include the appointment of a 'competent person'. For purely selfish reasons we're delighted with the stance of the insurance company! More seriously the client has entered into the spirit of things and the workplace has improved. Harry

Posted By David Allan Shane We had a presentation from our own insurance broker at the beginning of the year, he indicated an increase of around 40% for virtually all companies and those who could not demonstrate reasonable H&S management (commensurate with size)even greater rises. As a broker he was finding that many of his clients were "stuck" with one another as he could not get another quote. The focus is no longer on accident record but on future and ongoing risk. This is in line with Revitalising strategy but mainly due to attempting to limit claims. Employers Liability insurance is a pretty unpopular product (and loss making)for most Insurance Companies. This has been borne out by discussion with many delegates and clients who have seen their premium increase dramatically - 500% in one case. Indeed, at least 2 Scottish companies have had to liquidate as they could not afford the new premiums. An option that was mooted was that many companies have been forced to up their excess on the policy so that they pay for the first £x thousand themselves. So to answer your question, no I don't think it's likely that you get a premium reduction in the short term, but you will remain a good risk and the financial hurt will be lessened. Happy to hear otherwise. David