As an insurance agent today, it’s important to support clients with more than just insurance. Otherwise, another agent might swoop in and steal your clients with the promises of additional services and support. As you know, competing agents are always knocking on the door, looking for a way to create a wedge between you and your best clients.
Focus on OSHA recordkeeping
OSHA recordkeeping may not be your strong suit, but any agent can help support their clients’ OSHA compliance needs. And if they don’t, another progressive agent is waiting in the wings to shine a light on the potential consequences for noncompliance. (And if OSHA isn’t your strong suit, check out this OSHA guidebook for everything you need to know!)
Why OSHA? Not only is it a critical compliance area all employers should know about, managing OSHA recordkeeping properly is also a great way for an agent to help guide employers to a safer workplace, drive down work comp costs, and avoid potentially huge OSHA penalties.
If there is a severe injury or death (or even a disgruntled employee), and OSHA comes knocking, one of the first things the OSHA inspector will ask for is the employer’s OSHA records. Legally, your client must provide those records within four hours—and the best way to show OSHA you are safety-conscious is to have those records ready to go immediately. How many of your clients would feel confident handing over their OSHA records at the drop of a hat?
Don’t leave your top clients vulnerable for takeaway
OSHA may not be top of mind for you—or your clients—but imagine if an agent called one of your top accounts and asked if they were prepared for the March 2 OSHA recordkeeping deadline, or if they were confident they’d pass an unexpected OSHA inspection.
If your client is unsure, imagine that competing agent jumping on that uncertainty and suggesting that the employer’s current agent (you) must not be doing a very good job. Your client may wonder why they’re working with an agent that isn’t helping them file their OSHA records annually or avoid costly OSHA fines.
The closer the March 2 deadline gets each year, the more agents will be using it as a prospecting tool to cast doubt on incumbents and steal away business.
Use OSHA to your advantage
In addition to protecting against competitors, supporting your clients with OSHA recordkeeping and compliance is just a smart way to provide extra value to your valued clients. Leverage the March 2 deadline to open the conversation, as missing that deadline could result in huge fines and potentially even a full OSHA audit.
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- Identify any of your clients that have 250+ employees or fit the designated industries and have 20 to 249 employees (find the full list here).
- Call or email each client, asking if they’re aware of the March 2 OSHA deadline and prepared to comply—especially since OSHA recently released updated rules about the OSHA submission.
- If the client is unaware or has questions around the new rules, provide this compliance guidebook to educate them on the requirement and how it impacts their business.
- Offer to meet and discuss the rule, to help ensure their business fully complies.
Taking these few steps is an easy way to provide tremendous value to your clients and further strengthen your relationship. Even if your clients are already aware of the deadline and the rule updates, they will appreciate your offer of support.
Make OSHA recordkeeping simple
Educating and guiding your clients around OSHA recordkeeping is a smart move for all agents, especially those who write work comp. And if you want to provide even more value, check out this simple OSHA recordkeeping software that agents nationwide use to make OSHA a breeze for every one of their clients.
