Why Your Broker Should Be Asking Your Safety Team About Your Experience Rating
Most businesses make million-dollar insurance decisions without connecting two critical pieces: their safety program and their insurance broker.
The Expensive Disconnect
Safety teams document incidents, track near-misses, and keep people safe every day. Brokers renew policies based on last year's numbers and whatever carriers offer.
These groups rarely talk. And that silence costs money.
What the Experience Rating Means
The experience modification rate (EMR) is a financial scorecard that impacts insurance costs. Below 1.0 means performing better than average. Above 1.0? That's a premium.
When safety teams reduce incidents, implement training, and document everything, it should lower insurance costs. But someone needs to connect those dots with underwriters.
Questions Brokers Should Ask
A broker with a client's back sits down with the safety director and asks:
What training programs rolled out in the last 12 months?
How has the incident rate trended?
What proactive measures are happening on job sites?
What documentation proves the safety culture?
This is the ammunition needed when negotiating with carriers.
Why This Matters Now
Insurance carriers have rough years. When they need to make up losses, they look at renewals.
A company could have zero lost-time incidents, perfect OSHA logs, and an incredible safety program. But if the carrier had a bad year, rates still go up.
Unless someone fights with the right data.
Companies that win treat insurance as a financial risk needing attention:
Compile the evidence. Document every training, inspection, and proactive measure. Share it with the broker.
Review coverage regularly. Throughout the year, not just at renewal.
Connect the teams. People preventing claims should talk to people negotiating insurance.
You invest in safety. You train your people. You reduce risk.
But if your broker isn't talking to the safety team, there's no credit for it.
In a market where carriers look for any reason to raise rates, that conversation matters.
At Tawney, we don't separate insurance consulting from safety management because risk doesn't exist in silos.