Masonry Magazine June 1979 Page. 23
Conduct a Cost vs. Benefit Analysis
Conduct a cost vs. benefit analysis of what you are spending on insurance and the coverage you are receiving. With the help of your agent you may be able to reduce the actual cost of buying certain coverages and find ways to ease the pain of payments.
Your agent should review with you the effects of:
* Deductibles.
* Self-insurance of uninsured areas.
* Money spent for safety programs.
* Downtime due to injury or damage.
All of these areas affect your insurance costs. As one example, you may increase the deductible amount on your policy and assume responsibility for losses that you feel you can afford, and assign only the higher risks to the insurance company. Under some kinds of coverages it is possible to reduce premiums by as much as 15% to 20% by increasing the deductible amount from $1,000 to $5.000.
Purchase a Policy Designed For Your Industry
Another method for controlling costs is to purchase a contractors' insurance package plan. Insurance Company of North America (INA), for example, offers a contractor-oriented package that combines job site coverage, office coverage, tool and equipment coverage, and third-party liability-just about everything the average contractor requires with the exception of bonding and worker's compensation. The latter two coverages are available as separate policies.
One of the attractive features of the contractor-oriented package is the installation/construction form. Since this form is written on a blanket basis, all reported projects are covered. In addition, at the start of the policy a rate is developed which will apply for the entire year. This gives the contractor several advantages:
First, it means he can go into any bidding anywhere during the year and immediately know what his insurance costs for a potential job will be. He doesn't have to call the company to ask if he can get coverage and, if so, what the rate will be.
Another interesting feature of some package policies is that if the amount of business the contractor is doing should change radically from one year to the next, the premium rate will be adjusted accordingly. If business drops off, the premium may be lowered. If it grows suddenly, the premium will grow in direct proportion to the increase in the number of jobs started over and beyond the average number of jobs for past years.
Part of the rate structure of a package policy may also mean that the contractor does not pay for the insurance costs for a particular job until men and materials are actually moved on to the job site and start construction. Bids for 50 jobs may have been won which will be spaced out over the course of a year. When work starts on the first job, the contractor is not going to pay up front for the other 49 jobs that he hasn't started. Obviously it may be to your advantage to have your agent look for a package policy which will provide such blanket coverage.
Still another provision offered by a few package policies permits the contractor to pay a premium each month based on the actual value of the work put into the project. For example, a builder who is constructing a house may complete only 10% of the house's value during the first month of construction, so he pays only 10% of the premium. The second month he may complete another 30% of the house, so he pays 30% of the premium, and so on until the job is completed. Obviously such an arrangement can help a contractor manage his cash flow.
Safety Groups
The ability to receive a dividend return at the end of the year because of lower than anticipated losses for a select continued on page 30
MAYCO
MAYCO
THE ONLY WAY TO
PLACE GROUT ON
MULTI-STORY, LOAD
BEARING MASONRY
CONSTRUCTION
HEAVY
DUTY
DRIVE
MAYCO C30HD
SMALL LINE GROUT & CONCRETE PUMP
... THE 'WORK HORSE'
OF THE INDUSTRY
Handles mixes with up to 1½"
aggregate.
Remote Control Flow of material
controlled at point of pour.
3-Speed volume selector.
Will pump in excess of 100' vertically
and 400 to 500 horizontally.
Versatile Can also be used for
pumping slabs, footings, foundations,
light weight cellular concrete floors,
high lift grouting and shotcreting.
ASK ABOUT OUR PROGRAM FOR STARTING A CONCRETE
PUMPING SERVICE A DYNAMIC WAY TO DIVERSIFY.
For information & location of your local Mayco
distributor, Contact:
MAYCO PUMP CORP.
4560 Sperry Street/Los Angeles, CA 90039
Phone: (213) 240-7070
MASONRY/JUNE, 1979 23