Maguire Agency Structural Movers Blog

If you could save your company money, improve productivity and increase employee morale, would you? According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workplaces that establish safety and health management systems can reduce their injury and illness costs by 20 to 40 percent. Safe environments also improve employee morale, which positively impacts productivity and service. When it comes to the costs associated with safety, consider the following statistics from OSHA:

• It is estimated that employers pay almost $1 billion per week for direct workers’ compensation costs alone; this comes straight out of company profits.
• Injuries and illnesses increase workers’ compensation and retraining costs. Lost productivity from injuries and illnesses costs companies roughly $63 billion each year.

In today’s business environment, these safety-related costs can be the difference between reporting a profit or a loss.

Industry studies report that companies who focus on safety as a core business strategy come out ahead. Consider the following as reported in Return on Investment (ROI) for Safety, Health and Environmental (SH&E) Management Programs, by the American Society of Safety Engineers:

• A coal mining company in West Virginia reduced its workers’ compensation rate of $1.28 per $100 payroll vs. its competitor’s rate of $13.78.
• Implementation of an OSHA consultation program reduced losses at a forklift manufacturing operation from $70,000 to $7,000 per year.
• A fall protection program implementation reduced one employer’s accident costs by 96 percent — from $4.25 to $0.18 per person-hour.
• Implementation of an improved safety and health program reduced Service master’s workers’ compensation costs by $2.4 million over a two-year period.

Considering the statistics, safety experts believe that there is direct correlation between safety and a company’s profit. We are committed to helping you establish a strong safety, health and environmental program that protects both your workers and your bottom line. Contact us today at 800-666-9393 to learn more about our value-added services and how we can help you create a culture of safety in your organization.

The Maguire Agency can provide for all the insurance and risk management needs of our structural moving clients. A basic policy consists of the following coverages (subject to the terms and conditions of the policy):

General Liability

The commercial general liability policy provides the insurance protection needed to pay damages for bodily injury or property damages for which the insured is legally responsible. General liability policies have a standard exclusion for damage to items in your care custody or control, hence there is no coverage for damage incurred to property which you are moving or raising (items in your care custody or control).

Automobile Liability

The liability coverage of the commercial automobile policy provides protection against legal liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of any insured automobile. The insuring agreement agrees to pay damages for bodily injury or property damage for which the insured is legally responsible because of an automobile accident resulting from the ownership, maintenance, or use of any covered auto.

Structural Movers Cargo Insurance

The cargo insurance provided by Travelers through the Maguire Agency is a unique policy designed for contractors who engage in structural moving, lifting, and raising of all sorts. The policy will pay for direct physical loss or damage to covered property. Covered property includes buildings, houses, or structures, including the contents that you own, or that are property of others in your care custody and control during the process of the move. Coverage begins with your first act required to prepare for the move, and ends on the completion of the last act required to finish the move, or 90 days, whichever comes first. (please refer to the policy for complete terms and conditions).

Contractors Equipment Coverage

The property covered on the contractors equipment floater might range from simple hand tools to power packs to large unified jacking systems to hydraulic dollies. Virtually any type of mobile equipment or tool can be insured. The coverage is for direct physical loss to the equipment.

Property Coverage

Property Insurance is any type of insurance that indemnifies an insured party who suffers a financial loss because property has been damaged or destroyed. Property is considered to be any item that has a value. Property can be classified as real property or personal property. Real property is land and the attachments to the land, such as buildings. Personal Property is all property that is not real property. The Building and Personal Property coverage form is the form used to insure almost all types of commercial property

Umbrella Liability

Umbrella liability insurance provides excess liability coverage over several of the primary liability policies (General Liability, Automobile Liability). Umbrella policies have two main functions: (1) To provide additional limits above the each occurrence limit of the insured’s primary policies; and (2) To take the place of primary insurance when primary aggregate limits are reduced or exhausted.

Workers Compensation

This coverage agreement obligates the insurer to pay all compensation and other benefits required of the insured by the workers compensation law or occupational disease law of any state listed in the policy. The coverage applies to bodily injury by accident and by disease that occur to an employee while in the course and scope of employment. The coverage includes no dollar limit for the benefits provided since any applicable limits would be those established within the law. Benefits are paid to the employee without regard to fault.

Hiring a contractor who does not carry the above basic coverage’s can be very dangerous for you or for a potential client. Check out our website at http://www.structuralmoversins.com/ under the free resources section for an article about the perils of doing business with an uninsured contractor.

Welcome to the Maguire Agency’s structural moving insurance blog. Maguire Agency has been providing insurance and risk management services for structural movers for the past 30+ years. I have personally been working with structural movers for the past 15 years. Check out more information about my agency and our experienced staff at our website, http://www.structuralmoversins.com/.

I have found over time that the needs/questions that one client has is often relevant to all our structural moving clients. My hope is to educate, share ideas, answer frequently asked questions, and anything else that is relevant to insurance and risk management needs for structural movers.

If you have a topic, a question, or an idea for a blog entry please do not hesitate to drop me a note at msundeen@maguireagency.com

Thanks.

Agency Establishes Structural Movers Underwriting Unit

Maguire Agency, an independent insurance agency offering property/casualty, employee benefits, and personal insurance lines, announced today that it has been named a managing general agent for structural movers’ insurance policies for Travelers. Maguire is one of the leading agencies nationally for insuring house and structural movers with about 275 clients in the industry. The managing general agent status gives Maguire the authority to underwrite Travelers’ policies for structural movers.

“Travelers recognizes that our agency has built considerable expertise and a noteworthy reputation in the structural moving industry,” said Matthew J. Clysdale, CPCU, CIC, president of Maguire Agency. “As a managing general agent, we have responsibilities for underwriting policies for our clients as well as those of insurance agencies around the country. The designation furthers our expertise and authority in this niche market. ”

Structural Movers Underwriting Unit

With this new capacity, Maguire has established a Structural Movers Underwriting Unit within its Commercial Lines business. Client services manager, Rita Rubbelke, CPCU, CIC, will have expanded duties overseeing the unit; Donna Como has been hired as an account executive.

Rubbelke has been with Maguire since 2004 and has 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. As client services manager, she provides clients with value-added services in claims management, workers compensation mod analysis and implementation of Internet-based service and risk management tools.

With over 20 years in commercial lines insurance, Como comes to Maguire Agency from Auto-Owners Insurance Company, where she was a senior commercial underwriter. Prior to Auto-Owners, she worked as an account manager for Chubb Group of Insurance Companies and Travelers. She is a member of Insurance Professionals of Greater Minneapolis.

“We know what is important to contractors,” said Matt Sundeen, AAI, CIC, Maguire Agency producer. “Our staff and dedication to the industry separates us from a local agent or other national agencies. The new managing general agent designation sets us apart even more.”

Maguire Agency wrote its first policy for a structural mover in the mid-1970s by designing a care, custody and control policy specific to the needs of structural movers. It covers companies from the first minute at a site to setting the building down. The policy has minimal exclusions, covering Acts of God, vandalism, movers’ error, fire, arson, auto accidents, etc.

Maguire Agency works closely with the International Structural Movers Association to develop industry safety programs, materials, and educational workshops. Maguire also sponsors many high profile industry events and publications. The association, which represents structural movers in the U.S. and Canada, has endorsed Maguire since 1996.

An agency of the year as chosen by the Minnesota Independent Insurance Agents Association, Maguire Agency offers property/casualty insurance, employee benefits, and personal insurance lines from a wide range of highly rated, financially stable insurance companies.