In the world of insurance, there are many fees, deductibles, premiums and other miscellaneous financial expenditures businesses must worry about. Between juggling funds in the budget to cover the next round of workers’ compensation insurance and normal business operations, it is easy for the magnitude of the true cost of injured employees to slip the mind.
Those deeply invested in analyzing the cost of workplace injuries will quickly come to realize that insurance premiums and deductibles are far from the end of financial costs of workplace injuries.
The unseen price of injured employees
The most prominent financial burdens of workers’ comp. are the insurance premiums and deductibles an employer must pay to keep their insurance and pay for the treatment of injuries. What employers may overlook, perhaps, is the revenue the loss of good workers can have on company profits.
Employees, especially blue-collar workers, may almost cost the company more in loss of revenue than insurance deductibles. A worker on the job may not be able to upsell a $700 job into a $10,000 job if they are recovering from a broken foot. Businesses may still be able to get some use from their employees by temporary reassignment, but workplace injuries may prevent the greatest employees from delivering the best value.
Even temporary or permanent reassignment costs a company. Employees needing to be retrained require instructors and time to learn their new role. The time and money spent here may not register in business expenses but may be seen plainly in loss of revenue and productivity.
The cost of safety
A long-term way to save money is by investing in workplace safety. Different practices can be implemented to investigate the cause of injury and make improvements in workplace conditions that could save a company a big pain in the neck, both figuratively and literally.
